What Makes a Monster
by WellBlessMyNippers
Summary: Sephiroth is determined to believe he has no human left in him after his years in the labs. The Fair siblings are just as determined to prove him wrong. Takes place pre-FFVII and completely ignores Crisis Core. Sephiroth/OC, Zack/Cloud
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:**Dang, it's been awhile since I've seen this thing. I had some serious family issues and I completely forgot about this story. Now, four years later, I happened to stumble upon it while cleaning out my hard drive. I'm so sorry to anybody who was waiting for another chapter. I hope you can forgive me. Good news is that I plan on finishing it now that this story and I are reacquainted. Bad news is that there are many things about this story I don't like anymore. I'm going to make some serious edits to the chapters I've done first.

Pairings: Sephiroth/OC, minor Zack/Cloud

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Final Fantasy or any of its characters. I do, however, own Annya.

**Chapter 1**

Sephiroth let out an exasperated sigh. It was half past nine and his office was still short one Zachary Fair. Not once since being chosen as his aide had that boy actually showed up on time for a meeting. Sephiroth sighed again and rose from his desk, feeling he'd best go find the Second Class. He'd probably gotten stuck in the vending machine or something equally stupid. He reluctantly left his office and headed towards Zack's in hope that he wouldn't have to actually _search_for him.

As he neared the elevator, he spotted a girl standing near the end of the hall, looking a little lost. Her dark curls bounced as she turned her head towards him. He stopped next to her and on seeing her up close, he couldn't help but think there was something familiar in the shape of her forest green eyes.

"Do you need something?" he asked coldly, preparing himself for the imminent attack of the fangirl kind.

Seemingly as though she didn't even hear the ice in his tone she just smiled up at him. "I was supposed to meet someone. He told me he was on this floor but I don't really think I'm even allowed to be up here."

A slender, silver brow arched slightly. "You _are not_allowed to be up here. This floor is off limits to non-Shinra personnel." He wondered how she even got up here in the first place; elevator access was restricted via keycard.

A more pressing matter was her disturbing behavior. She had not lived up to his expectations, as she wasn't trying to rip his pants off and screaming wild proclamations of love. And if she wasn't an admirer she should have been cowering in fear as per usual. However, she was just treating him as if he were any other person she could have happened across, behavior he had only really associated with one other person. One other person who he happened to be looking for.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the girl asking where the Second Class offices were. He frowned. "Who are you looking for? Who are you?"

"I'm looking for Zachary Fair. I'm Annya Fair, his sister."

Sephiroth blinked, not remembering Zack having ever mentioned a sister. At least that explained why she reminded him of his tardy aide.

He must have been spacing out for quite a while because the next thing he noticed, she was smiling warily at him as if he was not all there.

The silver haired man shook his head as if to clear it. "I apologize. I was actually on my way to see him myself. I shall accompany you."

"Thank you, Sephiroth."

"How did— " he cut himself off feeling a bit stupid for even beginning to ask.

She just smiled at him again. "Even if it were not for all of the media attention you get, Zack talks about you all the time."

Warmth began to swell in his chest, part embarrassment about what Zack might have told her and part being touched that Zack thought him worthy enough to discuss with his family.

He jabbed the down button on the elevator and they waited in silence for it to arrive. The elevator arrived with a ding and they entered in equal silence. As he pushed the button for the thirty-seventh floor, he wondered if he should break the lull. He, of course, was perfectly fine with it but Zack had always been uncomfortable with silence. She was sure to be the same way and he didn't think it'd be good looking out for his friend by making his sister uncomfortable.

"Zack never told me he had a sister," he ventured.

She turned to him, looking a little startled at being spoken to, face falling quickly back into a peaceful smile. "I'm sure he has. But I can't blame you for not remembering having heard it. Being able to tune him out is a gift with the way he talks. Perfectly understandable." She paused. "And if you'd rather not speak, don't feel obliged to. Unlike my brother, I am perfectly content with a companionable silence." She smiled at him again.

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards. Her smiling was starting to be infectious, she did it so often. "Are you the older or the younger?" he asked before he could stop himself.

"He's several years older."

"I never would have guessed. I thought younger girls were all more," he paused, groping for the least offensive world as possible, "excitable."

She gave a little snort of laughter. "You mean your fangirls? I hope I don't come across quite that crazy. But don't let me deceive you. I can be quite excitable, as you say, with people I know well."

He looked down at her, aquamarine locking with forest green, making the first direct eye contact they'd had. They both stood there a little stunned, as the elevator stopped, unable to look away till the elevator dinged and opened to release them onto the thirty-seventh floor. Sephiroth snapped his head forward quickly and stepped out of the elevator. Annya followed and fell into stride next to him.

"Zack is at the end of this hall," he informed her.

"Quite a long way from where he originally sent me. I know Zack can do some dumb things but..." She trailed off as if in thought. "I can't even begin to think of what he meant by it."

Sephiroth frowned. She was right. Even Zack wasn't _that_ dumb. He had sent her up to his floor on purpose. But why?

They traveled the rest of the hall in silence, reaching Zack's office. Unlike the other dark wooded doors of the other offices, Zack's was vibrantly colored, every inch of it having been covered in posters and photographs. He realized now that several of the photographs depicted a younger version of the girl standing behind him. Sephiroth opened the door without knocking.

Inside, Zack nearly fell out of his chair from the sudden intrusion. "Seph! What are you doing here?" he asked, nonplussed albeit happy.

The silver haired man just glared at him. Annya stepped a little to the right so she was no longer hidden behind the General's tall frame.

"Ay!" he cried, even happier, before vaulting over his desk and hugging her tightly. "It's been ages!"

"I know, I know. But I can't feel my lungs." She laughed as she tried to pry him off. Sephiroth noticed something small and suspiciously keycard shaped pass from Annya's to Zack's hands in the process.

Zack smiled broadly and let her go. "I see you've met the General."

Sephiroth interrupted the two siblings with a sharp "you are late" directed at Zack.

Zack looked downright bewildered for a moment before realization flooded his face. "I was supposed to meet with you! I totally forgot."

"Obviously," Sephiroth said venomously.

"Look, I'm coming now. Annya can just stay here till we're done," Zack suggested.

"Oh, yes, leave me here by all means. I won't be bored to death or anything," she muttered.

Zack's mako-enhanced hearing however, had picked it up and he turned to her to apologize.

She cut him off with a laugh, "I didn't really mean it. Don't worry about me, I can entertain myself."

The two SOLDIERs turned to leave. Sephiroth looked back questioningly one last time and she assured him she'd be fine and waved him off.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

It was a little past twelve before the men returned. They found Annya napping in Zack's desk chair, head slumped over to the side and mouth hanging partially open. Zack walked over to her and poked her in the side. She awoke with a start and swatted at his hand before berating him for taking advantage of her defenselessness. Sephiroth smirked at their antics.

Annya took offense to his amusement. "What are you doing here?" she asked him quite rudely. "Don't you have work to do?"

Sephiroth looked a little taken aback and Zack admonished the girl for lack of respect to which she just replied that he wasn't _her_ general.

"Just stop being so grumpy and apologize. Nobody like a terrible morning person," Zack said.

"S'not morning." She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked to Sephiroth. "I am really sorry though. I was annoyed at Zack, not you."

Zack huffed. Sephiroth nodded. "Do not worry about it. As to why I am here, I wanted to invite you to lunch with us. For making you wait here for so long," he explained as politely as he could.

Annya stifled a giggle. "Funny how the articles never mention how much of a gentleman you are."

Zack smiled to himself. Sephiroth wasn't usually this polite. Well, actually, he was but it was a false politeness he put on for the bigwigs. This time he was actually being nice, which was exactly what the Second Class was hoping for. The General needed a girlfriend badly and he couldn't think of a girl who could handle the man better than his sister. Incidentally, he couldn't think of a man who would be better for his sister than Sephiroth. She never seemed to like anyone back in Gongaga. At this rate, he'd never see her happily married.

**xXxXxXx**

A five-minute walk from the Shinra Building and the trio found themselves in a quiet little Wutaian restaurant. They sat there making small talk for a while, Zack being unusually quiet, letting the two get better acquainted without his interference.

However, Zack eventually realized there was question that needed asking no matter how much he hated to interject. "How long are you visiting for, Ay?"

She gasped in surprise at the question, looking at Zack. "Didn't I tell you? I'm not visiting. I've moved here!"

Zack frowned. "What for? What about Mum and Dad?"

"They'll be fine. They knew I'd have to move out eventually. Besides I'm getting close to marrying age— "

"How old are you?" Sephiroth interrupted.

"Seventeen," Zack said and at the confused look on the General's face added, "In Gongaga, tradition is girls present a guy to their parents at eighteen. If the parents approve, they get married at nineteen. Otherwise, the parents choose the husband."

"Gongangan girls are meant to be housewives. And Gongaga is no place to find a husband. The men there are all terrible losers." She glared darkly at her glass as she swirled her straw around.

"And you think the men in _Midgar_ would be better?" Sephiroth asked amused and his dark-haired companion chuckled. He'd been here all his life and dealt with the scum in the city everyday. Every man was either a crook or ugly enough that it outweighed their scant few good qualities.

She looked at him and smiled playfully. "So far, there's at least one decent man here. That's one more than in Gongaga."

Sephiroth sat there unable to figure out what to say.

Zack smiled, looking pleased. He decided to rescue his friend by asking his sister another question. "So, where are you living?"

She looked a little uncomfortable as she fidgeted and took a nervous sip of her drink. "I got an apartment and a job a little outside of Sector Six."

Zack's face fell. "Above the plate, right?"

She muttered something.

"Come again?" Zack asked.

"I said 'below'." She sighed, knowing what was coming.

"Wall Market!" Zack shrieked, leaping up from his seat. Sephiroth looked at her intently, pulling Zack back down into his seat before he could steal the attention of any more of the other patrons.

"You do not plan on staying there?" Sephiroth said, questioningly.

"Of course not. I just couldn't find anything else yet," she replied.

"Where exactly do you work?" Zack asked suspiciously.

"As a barmaid in the bar. I haven't resorted to whoring myself out yet, thank you very much." She sounded a bit hurt.

"Zack does not think you would want to work at the Honeybee. It is just that girls are kidnapped and _forced_ to work there. It is not really a question of you wanting to or not," Sephiroth said helpfully.

Zack took a deep breath before continuing, "You can't stay there. I'll help find you a job and you can live with me till you save up enough to get an upper plate place. But it's definitely not safe for you there."

"I am perfectly capable of protecting myself," she said acidly.

Zack burst out laughing and she glowered at him. Sephiroth was sure she was trying to set him on fire with her eyes. Much to his surprise, Zack's sleeve did catch fire. The raven-headed man gave a startled yell as he smothered the tiny flame with his cloth napkin. Sephiroth looked at her incredulously. She gave him a sheepish smile and looked away quickly.

**xXxXxXx**

Sephiroth walked into the Shinra Building a little ahead of the Fairs, who sounded like they were arguing in rapid Gongagan. He wished Annya would listen to her brother and get out of Wall Market immediately. Even if she could really set fire to things with her mind— he still hadn't figured out if that was actually her or not— it was just not a good idea for her to stay there. She wasn't the best looking girl he had seen in his years but she was definitely pretty enough not to escape Don Corneo's notice, at least.

If he could get her a job with Shinra then she'd be given a Shinra issued apartment. He'd have no problem convincing any of the departments to take her; his influence was great enough for that. But what would she want to do here. Suddenly, it hit him. He stopped and turned to the siblings, who just managed to stop walking before crashing into him.

"If you would like to consider a different job. I have been meaning to hire a secretary," he suggested.

Her face turned sour. Zack however was beaming ecstatically. "That's brilliant, Seph! Being your secretary would mean high pay since you're so far up the company ladder. And Shinra would supply housing too!"

"A secretary?" she asked, obviously irritated. "Why would you need a secretary when you have an aide?" She eyed Zack out of the corner of her eye.

"Zack helps me with military matters. I need help with all of the other company related things I'm still expected to do."

She considered for a moment.

"I get free drinks as a barmaid," she retorted.

"I would think you would prefer a job where you will not be groped by co-workers. Unless you wanted me to," he finished, surprising himself as that last part slipped out of his mouth.

Annya laughed. Zack looked quite as astonished as Sephiroth did.

"Did you just make a joke, Seph?" Zack cracked a smile.

"I suppose I did," he answered quietly, still surprised with himself.

"I'll do it," Annya said suddenly. The two men looked at her slightly confused.

"I'll take the job," she clarified.

Zack pulled her into a tight hug, kissing her forehead as he spouted profuse thank-yous. Sephiroth pulled Zack off before informing her he'd go bully the paperwork through Human Resources now, if she felt so inclined as to complete it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

One trip to Human Resources completed, Sephiroth found himself leading the siblings into his office. Zack wasted no time making himself at home, plopping down into the large, cushy leather desk chair. Sephiroth looked at him contemptuously as Annya inspected her new environment and whistled.

The office was quite handsome and extremely large. The sidewalls were lined with floor to ceiling bookshelves with Sephiroth's desk facing the door from the far side of the room. Two black, leather loveseats faced a coffee table forming a pseudo sitting room in the area before the desk. Everything that wasn't covered in black leather was made of what looked like polished mahogany, from the bookshelves to the floor. Someone obviously made a great effort to keep the wooden surfaces well polished because the whole office was very shiny. She had a sneaking suspicion it was Sephiroth himself.

"Nice isn't it?" Zack asked, grinning widely at her.

Sephiroth pulled something off a shelf and handed it to Annya before leaning against his desk.

"A furniture catalog?" she questioned.

"A furniture catalog," he replied. Seeing her still confused face he elaborated, "You need to pick out a desk and a chair and whatever else you would like. It'll be put in here with me."

"Um— " she hesitated.

"Don't worry, Ay. Shinra pays for it!" Zack piped up as he spun around in the chair.

She looked content at this and sat down on one of the leather loveseats to start thumbing through the catalog. Sephiroth watched her carefully as she'd periodically pause at certain pages and look thoughtfully at his current furniture, sometimes scrunching up her nose in disgust, sometimes nodding approvingly.

Zack looked back and forth between them, his sister staring intently at the catalog and the General staring intently at her. This would be the opportune moment for them to spend some alone time together. He grinned to himself before leaping from his chair, two heads snapping towards him, and announcing that he must leave for he had work to do. He dashed out of the office leaving neither of them time to protest. They were staring at the door long after he had gone.

"What on Gaia is he up to?" Sephiroth wondered out loud, knowing better than to think Zack was actually going to _work_. Annya shrugged before returning to the catalog.

As she continued her perusal, Sephiroth realized what she was doing and felt it'd be best to warn her. "I would not try too hard to match up the furniture if I were you. I was supposed to order new furniture for myself. I just have not found time to do so yet."

She glanced at him, slightly annoyed, and sighed as she flipped back to the beginning of the catalog to start the whole process over again. Sephiroth resumed his watch.

Feeling eyes on her, she stopped and looked up at him, eyebrow arched sharply. He didn't look away, though he did look a little surprised at being caught.

"Is there something you need?" she questioned pointedly.

He shook his head and found that his boots had suddenly became much more interesting. She looked at him for only a moment longer before resuming her furniture search.

"If you would like, you can choose out the furniture for the whole office. I do not mind. The looks are of no importance as long as it is functional," he offered quietly.

She shot him an excited look. "Really? I can redesign the office?"

He nodded. "Just no pink," he added quickly.

She rolled her eyes and looked back at the catalog. "Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I automatically like pink."

He begged to differ. He eyed he outfit; it was entirely pink.

Sephiroth stared at her for a few more moments before walking around his desk and sitting down to start the mountain of paperwork he'd been ignoring. As he was working he realized he could not focus. His attention kept getting drawn back to the girl sitting on his couch. If she noticed he had no idea because she wasn't saying anything. He found he was staring at her more and more often the harder he tried to concentrate on his work. Maybe asking her to be his secretary hadn't been such a good idea after all. He'd never get any work done again at this rate.

The next time he looked up at her he met a pair of forest green eyes, alight with intense emotion. It bothered him that he couldn't place which emotion.

"You aren't around women much are you?" she asked, eyes still locked with his.

He considered this for a moment. "Well, no. I mean I am in charge of a mostly male army. There are the nurses but I never go to the infirmary; I go to the lab, which is also male dominated. Scarlet hardly counts. And then there are the other secretaries, but most of them are diehard fangirls and frankly scare me a little."

She shot him a sympathetic little smile.

"You smile a lot." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

"And you don't." She smiled. "Which is a shame. You'd be very handsome if you did. Not that you aren't now, of course. Just more handsome."

"Oh. Thank you," he finished lamely. He wasn't sure what else to say to that. He remembered something else he'd wanted to ask her. "Zack's sleeve catching on fire. Was that— "

Before he could finish asking, she held up a pendent on the chain around her neck to reveal the small green orb in the setting. "It was a gift from Zack. He made me learn how to use materia ages ago. Just simple stuff though."

She apparently had nothing else to say after that because she just fixed her gaze on the catalog again. He pushed his work to the side knowing it was futile to even try again.

**xXxXxXx**

The workday was over and Sephiroth was glad for that. He hadn't had a day this confusing since he had first met Zack. He'd become used to the Second Class by now so he'd long since stopped worrying about why Zack had insisted on being his friend. Meeting Annya, however, had resurfaced these thoughts. What on Gaia made these two people instantly decide to try and befriend him when others gave him such a wide berth? He smiled a bit to himself, thinking how the ability to send his emotions into turmoil must be a family trait. All of a sudden, Zack's yearly offer of going home with him for Christmas felt that much more ominous.

He glanced over to the now abandoned loveseat. Annya had left a few minutes ago with Zack to Shiva-only-knows where. He was slightly irritated with them for they had invited themselves to his apartment for dinner. Though to be fair, Annya insisted on cooking so he didn't really mind her being there. He wasn't going to complain about getting fed with no work on his part. Zack, however, did not need to be there but he knew there was no way to dissuade the boy. He sighed and headed home, hoping he'd have enough time to change before they arrived.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The next few months were some of the most enjoyable Sephiroth had ever spent. He had grown attached to Annya more quickly than he first did with Zack. He figured it was because he easily saw her as a sort of extension of her brother. The three of them had become near inseparable. At least it felt like that since he couldn't remember the last time he spent a moment alone. He, with Zack and Annya, had spent several laughter-filled weekends slinging paint at each other as they redecorated both his office and Annya's apartment, going out for meals, and occasionally the Fairs sleeping over at his place.

As far as work was concerned, Annya proved quickly to be an efficient worker and had since single-handedly brought his office into the digital age. Paperwork was now completed electronically, his old papers had been digitalized and sent off to a Shinra warehouse, and, with much effort, she had even taught him that a computer could be more than just a glorified typewriter.

And to top that off, Zack's performance had increased phenomenally, being in even higher spirits than normal with his sister constantly around. At this rate, he'd make First Class before next spring.

Sephiroth leaned back in his chair and smiled to himself, letting himself get lost in contentment such as he'd never felt before in his life. He was only brought Gaia-bound again when Annya asked him if he was okay. He sat up quickly, staring at her in surprise.

"I had forgotten you were here," he said.

"Thanks," she replied sarcastically.

There was a knock on the door, cutting him off from making a snide comment in return. Annya sighed and got up to answer it, all the while muttering about people actually making her work while at work.

She opened the door only enough for her head to fit through so she could find out who it was and what they wanted. Sephiroth smiled when he heard her tell the visitor to go away because he was busy. His eyes were quickly torn away from his computer screen when the visitor forced the door open, sending Annya to the floor.

Sephiroth instinctively rushed to her side, helping her up before straightening up to glare at the intruder. He froze. His anger dissipated and horror replaced it as he came face to face with the be-speckled, greasy-haired Head of the Science Department. He quickly recomposed himself and glared at the man, keeping a tight grip on Annya's upper arm to restrain her from attacking the professor, as she was making a valiant attempt to do so. He didn't bother to try and stem the steady stream of profanities she was spewing at the man.

"And who is this?" Hojo asked, looking at the flailing girl in Sephiroth's arms with severe distaste.

"My secretary. You have met her before," Sephiroth explained, not daring to say more. If this man found out she was more than a co-worker, Annya would be in more danger than she could possibly imagine. The only reason Hojo did not use Zack against him was because Zack would fight back. Zack was a SOLDIER; he was taller, stronger, and faster than anything Hojo could throw at him.

Annya, however, was merely a seventeen-year-old girl. She was at least a half-foot shorter than the scientist and about half his weight. He had some comfort though, in the way she was struggling against his grip; she might actually be stronger than Hojo. But still, if he ordered the Turks after her— He didn't want to think about what would happen.

The scientist looked her over. "I don't remember her. Did you pull her straight out of the slums?" Hojo sneered. "Never the less, you should get rid of her. You can find somebody far less ill-behaved and I daresay far prettier."

Sephiroth's own anger was forgotten as Annya gave a sound of indignation and nearly broke free from his grip. Eyes never leaving Hojo, he quickly readjusted her so he was pinning both her arms to her sides.

"She is good at her job. I'm not getting rid of her," Sephiroth said coldly.

Hojo looked at him hard before continuing. "I haven't seen you for quite some time. You've missed several appointments now. I thought I'd best come fetch you."

"I am fine," the General spat.

"That is for me to determine. I'd like you to accompany me to the lab now, please," Hojo commanded, voice holding none of the politeness his words indicated.

Sephiroth snarled but quickly looked down— not allowing his face to betray the horror he felt— at the girl in his arms as she addressed the scientist directly. "He said he was fine. Back off"

Hojo glared venomously at the girl. "Stupid little girls should stay out of matters that are none of their business." Sephiroth felt Annya go rigid in his arms before Hojo continued. "Sephiroth belongs to me and it is my prerogative to do as I will with him."

"He's a person, not your property," she hissed.

Sephiroth might have been touched if he wasn't absolutely horror-struck. He clamped a hand over her mouth before she could incriminate herself further.

Sephiroth knew it would be mere seconds till, if he hadn't already, Hojo correctly interpreted why he was doing his best to restrain Annya from doing something she'd regret. As incapable as the scientist was of feeling compassion, he was able to recognize it remarkably well.

Hojo's eyes flickered between Sephiroth and the girl. He smiled cruelly at the silver haired man. Hojo didn't need to say anything for Sephiroth to understand the exact meaning behind that smile.

"I will be there. Just give me five minutes to finish up here," Sephiroth said.

Hojo, smiling victoriously, turned and left the office. Sephiroth turned Annya so she was facing him. She spoke before he could get a word in. "I still can't believe anyone can be that much of an asshole."

Sephiroth smirked in spite of himself but steeled his expression quickly. "You need to have as little to do with him as possible," he half ordered, half requested.

"Zack always said you two never got along. What's his deal with you?" she asked as if she hadn't heard him at all. "Why listen to him?"

Apparently, Zack had not relayed the exact workings of the relationship between himself and Hojo to. He made a mental note to thank his friend. He wasn't sure he ever wanted Annya to find out. He could confide in Zack who understood the magnitude of the situation. The Second Class was rash most of the time but he could keep a cool head in a crisis. Annya was the opposite. She was fiercely protective, a trait that had the bad habit of overpowering sense in the worst situations. He'd seen her attack an armed gang of five full-grown men for calling Zack some unsavory things. Sephiroth and Zack had barely been able to bale her out of that mess uninjured. If she heard the full detail of what Hojo had done— and still does— to him, she'd storm the labs and land herself a death sentence in no time.

"Do not worry about that. Just stay away from him. Please," he repeated.

She contemplated him for a moment. "Fine," she agreed sulkily.

"Good. Go bother Zack while I'm gone," he said, hoping her brother would be able to cheer her up.

"But I have work to finish."

"Forget about it." And with that he left for the lab.

**xXxXxXx**

Zack looked tentatively at Annya as she just stood in front of his desk, looking like she might yell at him. He couldn't for the life of him think of anything he might've done.

"What's really going on between Seph and Hojo?" she finally asked.

Relived, Zack replied, "Did you ask, Seph?"

"Yes. He wouldn't tell me. But I know you know."

"Then I won't tell you. I'm sorry."

"Why not? I'm worried about him," she demanded, hands on her hips.

"If Seph doesn't want you to know, then I won't tell. It's up to him who finds out."

She made an annoyed sound and turned to leave. "If you see Sephiroth after he gets back from Hojo's tell him I went home for the day."

He called after her but she was either already too far to hear him or just ignoring him. He leaned back in his chair. He thought he knew why Sephiroth hadn't wanted her to know anything. It was implausible to just bust into the lab and kill Hojo. Life didn't work that way. There were too many complications, which Annya would find negligible. She would always prefer to sacrifice herself for a loved one no matter the cost. Admittedly, he found this an admirable quality but completely unrealistic.

He used to be the same way. He had always wanted to do the noble thing, to be the hero. That was well and good in Gongaga, but after years in Midgar— years in SOLDIER— the world no longer seemed so black and white. He had come to discover many shades of grey.

He felt a pang in his chest when he realized how pessimistic he had become. And Annya would become the same way. Midgar would painfully rip every shred of innocence from her as it had him. If she would just go back to Gongaga she could live the rest of her life believing in fairytales. But he wouldn't dare try to uproot her. She loved it here and had made several friends already. If she had to leave Midgar, if she had to leave him and Sephiroth, she'd be devastated. Zack smiled sadly to himself as he ran a hand through his hair, realizing this was another one of those grey shades.

Zack sat up quickly as the full effect of Annya's last statement finally hit him. If Sephiroth was at Hojo's he'd be kept there well into the night and when he left he'd be messed up. Nearly every time Sephiroth came back from the labs, Zack would be brought close to tears at the sight of his proud friend and leader in such a pathetic state. He would have to go wait for Sephiroth after so he could help his friend home and nurse him back to health. At least it was Friday. He'd have the whole weekend to try and help Sephiroth regain consciousness.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"You're late."

Sephiroth glanced over at the clock. It was five minutes and four seconds after he had told Hojo he'd be down in five minutes. Sephiroth glared at the man. The scientist gestured for him to sit on the steel examination table and Sephiroth reluctantly complied. Hojo immediately started poking and prodding, sticking needles in him, some full of substances he could never identify and some drawing blood.

Sephiroth wouldn't have minded this part of the examination that much if it were anybody else but Hojo conducting it. The needles were annoying but he could never feel a thing. The second part, the readings Hojo got while he was defenseless and naked in the stasis tube, was downright humiliating but he could live through it. It was when the professor decided that he'd add a third stage to their routines, when he felt he'd like experimenting and testing a brand new theory— which happened more often than not— that made these visits terrible.

When it happened it was always a slow, torturous process, leaving him severely ill and miserable for days after. The extra experiments were scheduled according to Hojo's whim. Their inconsistency made it all the worse.

Hojo ignored the glare he received as he told the boy to get undressed and get in the tube. The General obeyed, stripping as quickly as possible and stepping into the tube. He began securing electrodes and the oxygen mask. Everything secured, he stepped back and closed the tube, eyes locked with the swordsman's as the mako solution slowly began rising in the tube.

He felt a sick satisfaction at the hatred that that was being directed toward him. It wasn't easy to get the General this upset and still remain among the living. Yet so far, his bark had been worse than his bite. It was a special kind of fear he had installed in the boy during his early childhood that allowed him continued control over the most feared figure in all of Shinra.

Breaking eye contact when the liquid had completely filled the tube, he turned to face the console to make sure the readings were being taken correctly. He also pulled up a Shinra personnel file and glanced at it once before turning his sinister smile on the man. Sephiroth could not retaliate while hooked up to the tube. This would the opportune moment to besiege the General.

"So, your new friend, this Annya— " He skimmed for a reaction. The glare was unwavering. "— Her personnel file lists her surname as Fair. She wouldn't happed to be related to your little Second Class friend, now, would she?" Hojo didn't care if Sephiroth gave any confirmation or not. He already knew the answer. "Well, isn't that a cozy arrangement."

**xXxXxXx**

Annya was halfway to her apartment. She stomped along and since she was in the furthest complex from the main Shinra building, this was beginning to wear on her heels. Still she stomped on in rage at both Sephiroth and Zack. It wasn't fair. Stomp, stomp. Why should she be the only one not in on it. Stomp, stomp. She was Sephiroth's friend too. Stomp, break.

She fell flat on her face, unbalanced by the snapping of her left heel. She pushed herself into a sitting position and choked back a sob. She was scrapped badly all along her forearms and shins. She could also feel blood running from what she was sure were several cuts that must now decorate her face.

The pain did at least seem to sober her up. She sighed and painfully pushed herself up off the ground. She was being childish. Whatever was going on with Hojo was Sephiroth's personal business. He didn't have to tell her if he wasn't comfortable doing so. What she did know was that Sephiroth did not like Hojo and that he was with the scientist right this very instant. Even if she didn't know the details she could still show her support. She about faced and started back towards the Shinra building, forgetting she had promised she wouldn't go near Hojo.

**xXxXxXx**

Hojo strolled to the other side of the tube, aquamarine eyes following him the entire way. "They're Gongagan I believe. And if I'm not mistaken, Gongagan women marry at nineteen. Which would be two years for her wouldn't it?" He kept his tone conversational knowing it'd infuriate the other man most.

Sephiroth was glaring at Hojo so hard that his eyes were starting to hurt from the strain but he refused to change his expression. He thought he knew what the scientist was playing at and he wasn't about to help him get there.

He watched the professor smile up at him unctuously before he continued, "I'm sure you were aware of this particular bit of Gongagan culture. Perhaps you might have entertained some thought of being the chosen suitor."

Ah, they had finally arrived at Hojo's intended destination. Sephiroth felt slightly satisfied now and even allowed a small smirk. Hojo had taken a wrong turn. He had had no romantic inclinations whatsoever concerning his best friend's little sister. He merely felt the same way about her that he did Zack. And he didn't feel like he was about to up and marry Zack anytime soon.

Hojo seemed disappointed with the smirk and wavered in his assault a bit. "You've never even considered it?"

He shook his head decisively. Hojo frowned, upset his fun hand been derailed.

"Just as well then. She wouldn't be suitable for you anyway. You're some of my best work, I'd say you deserve much better than that filthy sewer rat. Not a single favorable trait to pass on. Bad temper. Very common looking. Can't be more than a B-cup either," Hojo said flippantly, hoping to get back on course.

This did not sit well with Sephiroth. The anger he would have felt about the insults was drowned in disgust and indignation at knowing the man had at some point been staring at Annya's chest.

The professor must have recognized the impact of his statement because he continued. "But I suppose she might still have another few years. Her hips are already defined fairly well. Perhaps the rest of her will fill out to match."

Unacceptable. He would have to hurt the scientist. Hurt him a lot.

Before he could make a move to break out of the tube, Hojo hit the button to begin draining the mako. His readings must have been completed. Even better. Once the draining process started the door unlocked. He wouldn't have to get glass shards embedded in his hand. He ripped off the electrodes and oxygen mask before forcing the door open, spilling all of the undrained green liquid all over the lab floor. The scientist looked very nonchalant considering a livid Sephiroth was advancing on him.

Just as the General poised himself to attack, the mechanical sound of the lab door sliding open caused both men to look towards it. A bloody Annya was standing there, wide eyed. Sephiroth remembered something fairly important. He was still naked.

**xXxXxXx**

**Author's Note: **Just to let you all know, I have a new story up. It contains what happens during the time skip between chapters 3 and 4. It'll also be where I dump any side stories that I come up with. It's all just fun extra character development so you don't have to read it to understand anything is _What Makes a Monster_.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

All three people were frozen in surprise for what seemed like hours. Annya was the first to move as she involuntarily lowered her gaze to the General's 'general'. She quickly realized what she was doing and turned bright red, spinning around violently and spouting apologies.

Hojo remained oddly still but Sephiroth recovered, hurriedly pulling on his pants and grabbing the rest of his clothes— not bothering to put them on— and rushed out of the lab, dragging Annya with him by the wrist. Tears escaped as her wounds burned, protesting the vigorous movement.

Sephiroth didn't stop till they were locked safely in his office. He looked back at her to see her trying in vain to wipe away the mixture of tears and blood from her face before he could really see it.

"What happened?" he asked worriedly.

"Heel broke. Fell down," she explained simply, stifling a whimper.

She saw him look her once over, pausing at her feet. She looked down as well. She hadn't realized it, but she was standing heavily on her right foot, left gingerly resting on the floor. The ankle looked red and swollen. She had thought there was new pain.

"Did you hurt your ankle when you fell?"

"I think that just happened, actually," she said quietly. She must have twisted it running on her uneven heels while he had dragged her up here.

The guilt was immediately apparent in his face. "Oh Shiva. I am really sorry."

"No. It's okay. We'll say we're even after I saw your— Well, we'll just say we're even." She gave him an embarrassed smiled.

He tinted a little red himself. "We should get you to the infirmary."

"No. I can take care of it. I have a first aid kit." She made to go to her desk put Sephiroth guided her into the nearest chair.

"Which drawer?" he asked

"The second from the top."

Sephiroth retrieved the first aid kit and moved to sit across from the injured girl. "What were you doing by the labs? I thought I told you to stay away from Hojo."

"I couldn't leave you there by yourself."

"I can handle myself. Please, promise me you'll never go near the labs again."

Annya observed him as he began dressing her ankle. Friend or not, it was odd to have the most powerful man on the planet tending her wounds. She wondered how many girls would die to be in he position. She scrunched up her nose at the thought and almost laughed, remembering how much time in her early teens had been spent daydreaming about this exact situation. "I promise."

He looked at her skeptically.

"I mean it. Really," she replied, tone indignant.

The office door opened. They both looked up temporarily only to return to their previous activities when they saw the spiky-headed second class Soldier.

"Hey, I just came to drop this paper off. I didn't think anyone would be he— what the hell happened to you?" Zack's eyes fell on his bloody sister.

Sephiroth looked at Annya, and was interested to see that she had looked away, blushing at this question. He looked to his fellow SOLDIER, who was starting to look angry, and thought he'd best calm the man.

"It was an accident. Her heel broke and she fell. I'm afraid the ankle was my fault though," Sephiroth explained.

Annya groaned and Zack burst out laughing. Sephiroth frowned. He may not have any siblings himself but he found this an odd reaction. He scowled and made to tell Zack off but was cut off.

"It's okay," the still blushing Annya said quietly, staring intently at the wall.

"I'm not trying to be insensitive. It's just— " he paused to get over another fit of laughter "— whenever she used to fall as a kid, she never put her hands out to stop her fall. It was like she was missing the reflex entirely. I thought that had stopped by the time I left for Midgar but I guess not." He broke out laughing again.

Sephiroth frowned again. He still didn't find it very funny. He went back to attending the girl's wounds.

Zack caught his breath and, still gleeful, asked, "Now, you said you were responsible for the ankle, Seph?"

Sephiroth relayed the full story of the escape from the lab not realizing he should have left out certain details till Zack was laughing harder than ever and Annya was blushing deeper than ever. He glared at the spiky-haired man who was now laughing far too hard to notice it. His mirth soon became contagious however, and before he knew it, he was grinning stupidly at Annya's ankle as he wrapped it. He looked up at her and to his surprise she was beaming at him, proudly showing off her overbite.

"I've never seen you actually _smile_ before," she said happily. "I was right. You are very handsome when you smile."

Embarrassed, he looked down and tried to steel his face again. The now lighthearted mood of the room must have been affecting him because he somehow ended up only broadening his grin.

The sight of his general practically laughing was enough to sober Zack up a bit. He strolled over to sit in the chair next to the white-haired man.

The trio just looked at each other and laughed.

**xXxXxXx**

Sephiroth was interrupted from his work by someone humming. He looked up to find Annya hanging up her jacket.

"Good morning," he greeted happily. He smiled as she rest her crutches against the wall. She had refused them earlier so he had personally taken to carrying her, against her will, to her destinations. After a day of murderous glares from the other secretaries and many odd looks, plus the occasional jest from Zack, she had accepted them eagerly.

"Good morning. How are you?" Her voice was unusually chipper, even for a Fair.

"I am fine. What has you in such a happy mood?"

"New Cadet Day!" she sing-songed.

He raised an eyebrow. "And that concerns you why?"

"Cause they'll just be so cute! All those itty-bitty, nervous cadets in their little uniforms looking all cute and stuff."

"First of all, I would appreciate you not calling my soldiers 'cute'. 'Cute' does not strike fear into the hearts of our enemies. Second, what makes you think you'll get to see them?"

She looked at him wide-eyed. "You aren't going to let me go to the introduction ceremony?"

He shrugged. "I did not realize you would want to go."

"I do! Really! I've been waiting for this since I started working here!"

He looked at her suspiciously. "Hoping to find a boyfriend among them?"

She scrunched up her nose and he laughed.

"I normally don't allow non-military or non-executive personnel near the SOLDIER complex but I'll make an exception just for the ceremony," he warned gently.

She smiled excitedly.

"Just for the hour," he repeated. "I do not want you sneaking down there during your lunch breaks to visit the 'itty-bitty cadets'."

She pouted. "But they'll be so nervous and homesick. They need a mother figure."

"Annya," he said sternly. One thing he couldn't abide by interference with his work. SOLDIER had been his escape from the confines of Hojo's labs and as such he felt a certain affection for his job. He took his job very seriously.

"Please, Seph," she begged.

"No."

"But— "

"Absolutely not!" he commanded, quite forgetting he wasn't disciplining an unruly subordinate.

She shrunk back at the tone, feeling small under his glare. She spouted a little apology and looked down at her feet like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

His expression softened and he got up to rest a comforting hand on her shoulder. "The military complex is the most tempting target for any potential terrorist activities. It is not safe for you to be there all the time."

"You and Zack are there all the time. Why's it okay for you to get hurt?" she replied, defiant.

"Zack and I are in the military," he spat through clenched teeth. She was being so infuriating. His toughest soldiers would have cowed at the very first 'no'. They wouldn't have dared to question him like this. He saw her wince and quickly removed his hand from her shoulder. He had been unconsciously squeezing harder the angrier he got.

He closed his eyes for a moment to compose him self. She was his friend. And as ornery as she could be sometimes, one of his well-trained soldiers she was not. He repeated his earlier sentiment more calmly and clearly this time. "Zack and I are SOLDIER. It is our duty to fight so that others will not have to suffer. That is why it is okay to put ourselves at risk."

She sighed. "Okay, okay. I promise I won't go near there except for today."

"Thank you. Now, Zack and I have some preparations to complete before the ceremony. We will meet you here at twelve-fifteen and we will head down together." She nodded in acknowledgement and he left, not really believing she'd listen.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Annya hobbled along merrily next to Sephiroth and her brother as they entered the mess hall. The long cafeteria tables that normally frequented it had been replaced with many rows of foldable chairs and a temporary stage had been erected near the front. The hall was still empty; they had been the first to arrive. Zack helped her to the isle seat in the front row of the audience and leaned her crutches against the back of her chair for her, before he followed Sephiroth to take a seat on the stage.

She watched the two of them talk animatedly to each other— Zack did most of the actual talking— but couldn't hear a single bit of what they were saying no matter how she strained her ears. She sighed and wondered when everyone else would start arriving. There was only forty minutes left, surely someone would decide to come in before the actual starting time.

At that moment the door opened. She turned around in her seat as five nervous looking teenagers, all dressed in the cadet uniform, stepped in. She could catch snippets of their nervous chattering, one asking if they had missed it and another snapping that they couldn't have because it wasn't even one o'clock yet.

Their chattering stopped instantly and they froze in their spots when they caught sight of Sephiroth. Clearly they weren't expecting to see the man so suddenly like that. Sephiroth had taken this in stride and retained his stony mask while Zack looked like he might start laughing any moment.

"You might want to sit down," she said kindly to the stunned boys.

Only two of them spared her a glance before looking back at the General, but they did slowly begin to move toward the back row.

She beckoned them to her with a wave. "Come on up here. Don't be shy. That's certainly not a quality that will help when you have to shoot an enemy in the face."

This only served to terrify the lot of them. She heard a snicker and snapped her head towards the stage to find her brother stifling a laugh behind his hand. Sephiroth had closed his eyes in exasperation.

Turing back to the cadets she waved them towards her again. They remained frozen until one bravely broke away from the group and with obviously forced confidence walked forward and took the seat next to Annya. She smiled broadly at the boy as the others made their way over at a much slower pace. He was short and skinny with wild blonde hair and big blue eyes. He looked a few years younger than her. Exactly the kind of itty-bitty adorable cadet she was hoping to see.

She introduced herself. "My names Annya. Annya Fair."

"I'm Cloud Strife." His voice was slightly shaky and he kept shooting glances out of the corner of his eye towards the stage.

She looked expectantly at the others to see if any of them would speak up as well. No suck luck. They looked too terrified to speak being in such close proximity of the General. She shrugged and returned her attention to Cloud. She'd take what she could get.

"That's got to be the most awesome name I've ever heard." There was a snort of laughter from the direction of the stage. "Where are you from?"

"Nibelheim," he replied quietly.

"Ah. I'm from Gongaga. And so is he." She jabbed her thumb in Zack's direction. "He's my brother. Zack Fair, Second Class." Cloud looked toward Zack, smiled half-heartedly, and waved shyly at him.

Zack beamed and waved violently in return. "Hey, Kiddo. Glad to have ya."

"And I suppose you know who he is." She jabbed in Sephiroth's direction now. Cloud nodded furiously, sending his blond spikes all over the place, and refused to look up at the silver-haired man who was now looking directly at them.

"Say 'hi' or something. Don't be rude," she chastised lightly.

"Yeah he won't bite…usually," Zack said.

Cloud looked very put upon. He squeaked a quick "hello, Sir," to Sephiroth.

"Hello, Cadet Strife," Sephiroth replied, now looking a bit amused.

The other cadets were all looking at Cloud now, in awe that he had actually exchanged words with the Great Sephiroth.

Before Annya could torture Cloud further, the doors opened and many more people started to file in. She sighed and let herself fall against the back of her chair. She looked up at the stage, which was quickly filling up, to see the Head of the Turks take a seat next to Sephiroth. He must be here to try and persuade some of them to ditch the Soldier program in favor of the Turks.

The ceremony itself was a monotonous affair broken momentarily when Zack got up to announce he was the new Dorm Director for the cadet barracks. She had to stifle a laugh behind her hand at the idea that anybody could think it was a good idea to give _Zack_ that kind of responsibility.

This moment of mirth was short lived and she was quickly back in a bored stupor. Sephiroth's speech didn't help any because he was just using a mechanically business-like tone. She couldn't see how she was the only one who realized how boring he was. The cadets were all sitting stiffly, staring at the general like they'd never seen anything more exciting in their lives. Cadets were weird. She tapped Cloud's arms to at least get some conversation in but he just swatted her hand away, never looking away form the stage.

Her last hope extinguished she turned to stare at Sephiroth as well, tilting her head from right to left to see if he'd be anymore interesting from a different angle. Mercifully, he was soon done talking and opened the floor up to questions. One of the cadets that had originally come in with Cloud raised his hand. Sephiroth acknowledged him and he stood up.

"There's one person that hasn't been introduced, Sir. Who exactly is she, Sir?" He pointed directly at her and continued speaking with more attitude than she could have imagined would fit into a person his size. "She's been here the entire time, being blatantly disrespectful. She can't possibly be going for SOLDIER."

"And why can't I possibly be going for SOLDIER?" she asked loudly, irritation edging her voice.

He looked toward her. "You're just a girl," he said, as if this should have been the obvious reason.

She glared at him. Her mouth was open, ready to tear into him, before she was interrupted by the smooth, calm voice of the General. "Please, calm down, Annya."

She did. Reluctantly. He then addressed the cadet, "She happens to be my secretary. And if she was here to join the program, I am sure she would end up being twice the SOLDIER you will ever be."

There were several sniggers as the cadet blushed deeply and sunk back into his seat. She was unsatisfied and glared at the floor, daydreaming about roasting the cadet on a spit over an open fire like the pig he was.

She didn't realize that the ceremony had ended till she felt a tapping on her shoulder. She looked up to find the crowd already dissipated and Cloud standing over her, looking concerned.

"Look, that guy was out of line," Cloud said sympathetically. "If that _is_ what you're mad at. The tile hasn't insulted you or something, has it?"

She laughed and made to comment but Cloud had frozen. Guessing the cause, she called out a greeting to the General and her brother without turning around. They walked up next to her a few seconds later.

"You should have just let me hurt him, Sephiroth," she said airily to the silver-haired man.

"If you would like, I would gladly go track him down right now and beat him up in your honor," he said mockingly.

She glared at him.

Sephiroth turned his attention on the nervous blonde. "Are you all right, Cadet Strife?"

Cloud nodded silently.

"Look you don't need to be so scared. No one's gonna hurt you," Zack piped up, flinging an arm around the blond's shoulder. "Seph's a nice guy. You can talk to him. Really."

"No, I am not. I rip off babies' heads and feast on their innards," the General said with eerie calmness.

Both Fairs admonished, each trying not to laugh. They needn't have worried because Cloud gave a small, nervous laugh of his own. This in turn made the siblings lose their resolve and double over in laughter.

Sephiroth smiled a bit as he let the three of them compose themselves before asking the Fairs if they were ready to head to lunch. Zack put his hand on the blond's shoulder and invited him to join them. Cloud smiled and accepted happily, a bit less nervous than he had been before.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Lunch served to prove Cloud was a very agreeable person. They had gone to the same Wutaian restaurant that they had on Annya's first day in Midgar and by the time their food had arrived, he was talking to the Fair siblings as if he had known them since childhood.

Annya had been shocked to learn that Cloud was only a year younger than her.

"But you're so tiny!" she had cried in surprise.

Cloud had blushed and told her to shut her face.

Cloud also seemed to be much more comfortable with the General but, try as Zack may to stop him, was still insistent on calling Sephiroth, 'Sir'. Sephiroth didn't mind though. He didn't see the need to be on first name basis with the cadet on day one. Though he had to admit it wasn't because he didn't like Cloud. In fact, he thought Cloud had made a better first impression than either Fair had. As nervous and fidgety as he was, at least he had a sense of propriety.

Currently, Sephiroth found himself rather left out as they began chatting about various video games, an area in which he had very little knowledge.

"So, Cadet Strife. Why do you want to be a SOLDIER?" he asked politely at the first break in the conversation. It was never a bad idea to know the motivation behind the SOLDIER hopefuls.

"I just want to prove myself, Sir," the blond replied softly.

"To who?" Zack added curiously.

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. If he'd known it'd cause an interrogation he wouldn't have opened his mouth in the first place.

Cloud just shrugged.

"Do you have a girlfriend back home?" Annya asked, smiling knowingly.

"No. Do you?" the blond shot back.

The two SOLDIERs both laughed. She kicked them both in the shin. She regretted it afterwards though because she was sure more damage was done to her ankle than their shins.

"He's right though. It wouldn't surprise me with how much you seem to hate men and all," Zack agreed, still chuckling.

She rolled her eyes. "That's not fair. I like men just fine. Just not the ones I've had to deal with. With notable exceptions." She eyed the General.

Zack laughed at Sephiroth's discomfort.

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Are you two— "

"No," Sephiroth said a little too quickly.

The blond's brow rose again and smiled. "Forgive the impertinence, Sir, but I think you're a bit in denial." This sent Zack into a fit of laughter. Sephiroth half-heartedly glared at the boy.

"Sorry, Sir," he said quickly, and looked down at his plate.

Sephiroth stood up and walked off saying in passing that he was going to the restroom. Zack and Cloud looked at each other and grinned, both getting the same idea at the same time.

"We think we're gonna head off," Cloud said.

"Yeah. I shouldn't stick around too long. Have to get back to help the cadets with their dorms and such. First day and all. And Cloudy has yet to even see his room."

She was going to protest but they were already at the door calling at her to have fun as they laughed and waved. She frowned and slumped back against the booth. Sephiroth chose this moment to return, he glanced around. He looked to her questioningly.

"They bailed," she said simply.

"Why?" he slid into the booth across from her.

She shrugged. She knew why but wasn't about to tell him. They continued eating in awkward silence. Perfect. This was exactly how she had always pictured this scene.

"This is fantastically awkward isn't it?" she offered bravely.

"I think it is funny that we have spent plenty of time together at work but now we are like a couple of nervous fourteen-year olds, actually."

Sephiroth observed her carefully. He hadn't really considered her romantically before. Then again, he'd never really considered anyone romantically before. He'd had his share of flings over the years. Experimented in his cadet days, occasionally taken a fan up on their offer, but no real relationships.

He supposed she did something to him that Zack didn't. After all, he didn't spend nearly as much time staring at the Second Class. He just couldn't place exactly what that something was. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to take a chance. Zack certainly didn't seem like he'd have a problem with it.

He knew this wasn't the heart of the problem though. To be in a relationship he'd have to be willing to open up. He couldn't remain keeping his past from her; it wouldn't be fair. He didn't know if he was ready to do that though.

But she'd find out eventually anyway. If she saw him after one of his nastier visits with the professor, there'd be no keeping it from her. It might actually be best to tell her before this could occur so she could be prepared for it. Catching her by surprise was the most likely way to get her to crusade against the labs. That settled it then. He'd have to tell her. He shuddered at the thought of having to relive all of those memories.

"Annya."

She looked at him. He looked pained.

"Would you come home with me after work today? I need to talk to you." His voice was unusually quiet. The memories were already starting to swim back to the surface.

She looked concerned, "Of course I will. Are you okay, Seph?" she asked quietly.

He nodded almost imperceptibly.

**xXxXxXx**

Zack frowned. He had been hoping to hear much happier news upon his friend's return.

"Are you sure, Seph?"

The white-haired man nodded solemnly.

"Yes. Think of how much worse it will be if she just finds me bleeding and unconscious one day."

Zack nodded slowly in agreement. That was a fairly good point. But even if she was caught by surprise like that, she wouldn't know who to attempt to murder. He said as much to the General.

Sephiroth seemed to contemplate something for a moment before saying softly, "That would require outright lying and secrecy. It would not be fair. If I were to pursue a relationship with her I would not want it to start off dishonestly."

Zack did a double take, when he registered the last part of that. So lunch hadn't been a total bust after all.

"So you're going to ask her out?" He tried to keep his smile to a minimum out of respect for his melancholy looking friend.

"Yes. I was going to do it tonight, after I talked to her about Hojo."

Zack rolled his eyes. His commander must have noticed because he'd asked if he'd said something wrong.

"Seph, I love you man but you're just clueless sometimes. A girl wouldn't want you to ask her out after hearing about how you used to get violated by a creepy scientist." He clapped the confused man on the shoulder.

"You think she will not want me after I tell her?" The man looked distressed.

"No, no! That's not what I meant," Zack amended quickly. "She wouldn't dislike you for any reason. If you come home with us for Christmas this year, I'll prove it to you. It's just that she'll be sad or something after hearing that. You might want to wait for a more romantic setting."

The General still looked unsure.

"Look just deal with the Hojo issue tonight. That'll be hard enough for you to handle."

Sephiroth nodded in agreement.

"Do you need me to go with you?" He knew how hard this was going to be for his friend.

The General shook his head. "I would like to talk to her alone."

Zack grinned. "Just as well then. I thought I might take Cloud out to celebrate his last night of freedom." Seph would be all right. He always was. Besides his sister would supply all of the comforting hugs his friend would ever need.

**xXxXxXx**

"I am going to go change. You know where the kitchen is. Help yourself," Sephiroth told Annya, taking off his leather coat and casting it to the floor. He could feel her eyes on his bare back as he retreated to his bedroom and smiled slightly to himself.

Once in his bedroom, his pants soon met the same fate as his coat. He eyed his bathroom. She wouldn't mind waiting while he took a shower. He needed to be as comfortable as possible if he was going to delve into his childhood again.

He let out a sigh of relief as the hot water cascaded over he body. It was relieving aches he hadn't even noticed he'd had till they were gone. He absent-mindedly kneaded out a knot in the crook of his shoulder and thought he might go see the company masseuse at some point. A small voice in the back of his head started betting him he could probably get Annya to give him a massage. He promptly told the voice to shut up.

A little more relaxed now that he'd showered, he threw on some sweats and a t-shirt and headed out to his living room. He paused a moment before entering so he could brace himself for what was to come. He stepped past the threshold to see Annya lounging on the couch eating the cookies he had taken habit of stocking since she started spending so much time here. Unlike him and Zack, she had no need to watch what she put into her mouth and had often complained about the lack of junk food in both his and her brother's kitchens. He also noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that his coat and been neatly hung on the rack.

Resting the cookies aside, she stared dumbly. His damp hair was curling slightly and his clothes looked ruffled. She had seen him out of uniform before, but he had always looked pristine— not a hair out of place, nor a single wrinkle— no matter the outfit. He looked beautiful.

She sat up and made room for him to sit on the couch. She stared at him attentively, wanting him to speak first.

"I have one condition before I tell you anything," he said, not meeting her eyes.

"Anything," she replied quickly.

"You can't go attacking anyone because of what I say. Not physically or verbally. Do you understand?" he asked sternly.

"You don't want me to attack Hojo no matter what I hear tonight," she repeated, filling in the blanks for her self.

He looked at her blankly for a moment. "Right."

"I won't. I promise," she said, as sincerely as she could manage.

He nodded slowly. He took a deep breath and began to tell his story.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"The lab has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I don't know who my parents were or how I even ended up with Hojo. My childhood was spent as little more than just another one of his experiments. He always seemed to favor me. Not that this made him any fonder of me, it just made him spend more time trying to improve me; he wanted me to be the perfect weapon. I had to endure horribly painful experiments designed to test my resilience.

"I was constantly exposed to every illness the scientist could think of, from smallpox to malaria. He exposed me to nerve and cyanogen agents on more than one occasion, incase they were ever used against me. He did this till he was satisfied I had developed an immunity to virtually every kind of toxin that was a known danger on the field. And many more from off the field."

"I remember vividly one occasion where he cut three inches deep into my calf and infected the wound with a clostridium bacteria. I contracted gas gangrene. Everything else had caused me to be sick for a few weeks at the most, but this seemed to be the thing my body had the most problems fighting off. I was sick for over a year. By the time the year was over, it had spread to both of my legs, and most of my torso. I was literally rotting alive." He didn't look at her. He didn't _need_ to look at her; he knew she'd be horrified. And to be honest with himself, he felt a vicious, inexplicable satisfaction knowing that she was.

"My body was only fighting enough to slow the spread and barely keep me alive. Hojo refused to administer treatment even when certain it would finally kill me. He said either my body had to learn to fight it off or I deserved to die anyway."

He took a deep breath before continuing.

"I am much freer, so to speak, now that I have actually joined SOLDIER. Hojo's not allowed to mess with me too much anymore because the President is now greatly invested in me and would cut his funding if I was killed. But you heard him that day; he still feels I'm his property. He expects me there for regular check ups and up to this day, he still tries to test me with some new poison of his own invention. Your brother is the one who has been looking after me when Hojo kicks me out in a compromised position." He paused deliberately to leave her room to ask the question he knew she must have been thinking.

"Why do you still go?" Her voice was so soft it was cracking.

"I— " He hesitated. He knew full well why. He had long since admitted it to himself but that wasn't stopping a lump forming in his throat as he attempted to say it aloud. "I am afraid of him. I am… afraid of what he has done to me, of what I have become. There is no human left in me anymore. He is the only one that knows _exactly_ what I am now; he is the only one that can keep me from being dangerous."

He looked at her only when he felt a hand against his cheek. He didn't find it invasive but warm and comforting and he longed for more. He leaned into the touch almost nuzzling her hand. His eyes shut in contentment as the hand was moved to run through his hair. When he opened them again he was looking right into her glistening eyes. He hoped she wouldn't cry. He didn't want to deal with a crying girl right now.

But she didn't. She embraced him to her breast as a mother would a child. This was worth more than anything she could have said. That comforting warmth spread though him again and he found himself unwilling to move. Hojo seemed so far away now he almost felt silly for being afraid of him in the first place. He inhaled deeply. Her scent was just as comforting, as if he could smell the warmth.

He chose this moment to pull away lest she begin to think he was being creepy. She reluctantly let him go, and smiled sadly at him as he straightened. He looked away. He didn't know what else he could say. It didn't feel right to tell her to go home but if she stayed they'd just be sitting in silence.

As if sensing his internal dilemma she stood up from the couch and said gently, "I'll leave you alone so you can go to bed. I know that was hard for you and I'm sure you could use the rest. I'll see you in the morning, Seph."

As she reached the door, not knowing what possessed him to do so, he called out to her. "Stay here to tonight, Ay."

She turned to face him and he suddenly felt the urge to give an explanation of sorts. "I mean it is late. It is dangerous, you should not walk alone." He internally cringed as he finished saying this. Implying she couldn't take care of herself would likely offend her.

To his surprise she just smiled. "All right. But I'd still like you to get some rest now."

He nodded. He had no problem with that. He felt unusually exhausted considering he had only been talking. He saw her to the guest room before heading to his own. He fell asleep nearly as soon as his head hit the pillow.

**xXxXxXx**

His roommate was an idiot. He'd arrived an hour after check in and his roommate had taken his absence as a chance to seize both beds. It was two hours and much shouting before he could convince the much larger boy to move his stuff.

Cloud flopped down onto what was now his bed. He frowned and felt a small pang of regret that he didn't make sure to arrive early enough to choose the better bed. This one kind of sagged in the middle like someone and jumped on it too hard and broken the centerboard.

This was quickly replaced with happiness though as he relived the rest of the days events in his mind. One of his biggest fears in joining Shinra was that he wouldn't be any more liked here than he was in Nibelheim. But he'd already made friends. Zack and Annya actually seemed to like him and not just because he could make a good pack mule or scapegoat, unlike his supposed friends in Nibelheim. But, to be honest, he preferred Zack to his sister, simply for that fact that the Second Class hadn't spent the walk to lunch hugging him and telling him how cute he was.

Nevertheless, both of them were extremely friendly and so far he had a lot in common with them. He had been ridiculed since childhood for following the lure of electronic entertainment to the call of the great outdoors. It's not that he never went outside, he just was never one to be out from dawn till dusk, seven days a week like the other children. But Zack and Annya had not ridiculed him for it. In fact, they appeared to be very much the same way.

And not only had he made friends, he'd already met the man he'd most wanted to meet. He'd actually eaten lunch with _the_ General Sephiroth. He was much more reluctant to call the General a friend and for good reason. Sephiroth had been cordial but had obviously tried to keep a certain distance between them but this was hardly surprising. What did surprise him was the General's friendship with the siblings. He still had problems believing that the General, who had always seemed so quiet and aloof from far away, could possibly enjoy the company of people like the Fairs.

He didn't realize that he had dozed off till there was a loud knock at the door. It couldn't be his roommate because there's no way that assnozzle would ever knock. A very begrudging and bedraggled Cloud hoisted himself off his bed and answered the door.

"Hiya, Cloud! Don't tell me you were sleeping already. It's only seven," the beaming Zack said.

"Sleep is awesome," Cloud said, rubbing his eye sleepily.

"Fair enough. Want to go out? It's your last night free after all. Tomorrow begins your fascinating world of grueling training and boring military classes." He finished with unnecessary flourish.

"Isn't lights out at ten?"

"That doesn't start till tomorrow. Besides that's still ages away from now anyway."

"Since when is three hours 'ages'?" He looked at the dark-haired man skeptically.

"That's beside the point. You coming or not?"

He nodded and Zack took off. Cloud stood there staring at the empty space for a moment before he even realized Zack had gone. He started and ran after the now laughing SOLDIER, yelling for him to wait up.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Zack, where are we?" He'd run after the Second Class, not really paying attention to his surroundings. All he knew was that it looked like they were no longer in the nicest part of town. "Am I going to die?"

"Relax, Cloud. Nothing's gonna happen to you while I'm here," Zack said confidently.

The blonde looked skeptical. "Not to undermine your no doubt fearsome battle prowess, but I don't know if I feel like putting my life in the hands of someone I just met this afternoon."

The dark-haired man steeled his face as best he could. "Cadet Strife. I am your superior officer and I do not appreciate your cheek. I demand proper respect," he said in what was unmistakably a very bad impression of the General.

Cloud looked at him dryly but smiled in spite of himself. "You're an idiot."

Zack grinned and motioned to an alley off the main street. "We're down here, kid."

Cloud looked skeptical again. The alley was quiet and very dark. His mother would kill him if she ever found out if he'd considered going into an abandoned alleyway with a man who, in reality, amounted to little more than a stranger.

"I'm not in the habit of molesting cadets," Zack said, smiling handsomely. "Don't look at me like that. I'm serious."

Cloud scoffed but began walking in the direction the Second Class had indicated. It may be a bad idea but he couldn't help it when Zack was smiling at him like that.

As he got closer to the end of the alley, there appeared a tiny pinprick of light that grew progressively larger until they reached the glass door of a fully lit, and somewhat busy store. He looked at Zack questioningly.

"This is my favorite record store. But they don't just sell music. They have all sorts of neat junk." He held the door open for the blonde.

Cloud stepped in, in awe. The place was tiny and nearly every space was crammed with shelves and bins full of magazines, DVDs, and CDs. Movie memorabilia lined the walls. Music played loudly over the speakers and there was a good amount of people, mostly boys around his age it looked like, shuffling about the little walking space there was, digging through the various bins, and chatting with anyone they passed. He grinned widely. This place was fantastic.

Zack called out a greeting to the cashier, a tall, thin man whose hair and goatee were bright green. "I thought you could pick up some stuff for the year. For some reason, the new kids never bring anything to keep themselves entertained on all those boring nights. Like they all think they'll be sent on missions right off the bat or something." Zack chuckled to himself.

"I don't really have the money," Cloud said.

"No problem. I'll buy it," Zack said, nonchalantly.

"No way! I can't let you— "

"Sorry, Cloud. You don't have a choice." Zack pushed the cadet towards one of the bins. "You know, you really should learn to just accept people's generosity," he added as an afterthought.

"I guess maybe a couple CDs," Cloud said quietly.

"How 'bout an MP3 player? They dead useful and a lot less cluttery. Having one saved my life during my cadet days."

"Cluttery is not a word. And I don't want one, it's too much." The blond idly picked up a magazine and flipped through a few pages.

"What did I say about accepting people's generosity?" Zack pushed him in the direction of the MP3 players.

Cloud was irritated now. "Why'd you even ask then?"

Zack just grinned and told him to pick something out.

**xXxXxXx**

Sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains, flooding directly onto Annya's face. She could tell it must be early morning even through her eyelids. She slowly opened her eyes and sat up, glancing at the clock on the nightstand. It was nine and— She was late! How could she have slept in? She never slept in. She got up and jogged out of the room intending to just grab something to eat on the way out. She smoothed out her clothes irritably, Sephiroth wouldn't really care if she wore the same thing again, but it was still gross. She did have a few spare outfits here incase of such impromptu stays but she definitely didn't have time to change.

As she passed Sephiroth's room she stopped dead in her tracks. She turned slowly to face the bedroom door. It was ajar and she could see quite clearly that the bed was still occupied. She crept closer to the room. Sephiroth was fast asleep, the sunlight reflecting brilliantly off of his silver hair. She sighed in relief. He was late too which meant she was okay. She looked back at him. He looked very peaceful and if he was that tired she wasn't about to wake him up. Shinra could do without him for one day. She turned around and headed back to the guestroom to get properly ready.

Freshly showered and dressed, she made to the kitchen and set to the task of making breakfast. Hopefully the smell of it would wake him up because she wasn't sure she had the heart to do it herself. The smell apparently did its job because the silver-haired man was soon plodding sleepily to the table just as she was setting the food down.

She asked him how he slept but he didn't say anything. He just sat and stared at his plate. She looked at him sadly before taking her own seat.

Sephiroth absentmindedly pushed his eggs around on his plate. He was feeling remarkably well compared to how he usually felt after thinking about his childhood. His appetite had not yet returned but he had surprisingly slept through the entire night, not a nightmare to be had. He glanced at the girl eating across from him.

"Annya, there's something else I'd like to talk to you about." He hadn't meant to say it. It had just sort of slipped out.

She looked at him, curious and expectant. He wasn't exactly sure _how_ to say what he wanted to say. "I like you." He instantly felt foolish for it as he realized how childish it sounded.

"I like you too," she said.

He shook his head. "No— I mean— will you go out with me tonight?"

"Why wouldn't I?" she asked flippantly.

He couldn't help but feel she was being difficult on purpose. She couldn't possibly not know what he meant. Women were supposed to be the ones who were good at catching hints. He made eye contact with her, hoping to convey the message through some unknown telepathic link they may share.

"I meant— "

"I know what you meant." She smiled.

He sighed in relief. He found that conversation flowed much easier throughout the remainder of breakfast.

**xXxXxXx**

When he got to the office, he left immediately for the barracks, leaving Annya to deal with the paperwork. Even though breakfast had gone quite well, Sephiroth was glad to get to work that morning. His _true_ work. He still had some lingering melancholy from last night and Masamune would be sure to rid him of it. She always did.

He had been given Masamune the day he had been told he was to join SOLDIER. It was the first time he could remember feeling happy. It had meant that each day he would have twelve Hojo-free hours to train before he had to return to the lab. He had soon realized that the further he advanced in SOLDIER, the less time he had to spend in the labs. After that he had done everything he could to advance as fast as possible.

Masamune had been there during some of the worst moments of his life. The first time he ever had to interrogate a prisoner, the first time he had killed a civilian, the first time he'd ever contemplated suicide after the war: she was there for all of them.

But she had also been there for the best. She was there the day he had been promoted to General and issued his apartment. That was the first night he didn't have to spend in the labs. She was there the day he had first met Zack. In many ways he considered Masamune his first friend.

He made sure his face was neutral as he entered the Second Class Training Hall and nearly everyone immediately stood at attention. Zack just strolled up to him.

"So," the Second Class began, in an amused, drawling voice. "No answer from Annya's phone or yours and now you come in late. Must have had a good night."

He might have gotten in too late to start with his paperwork like he normally did but he didn't count that as being late. The paperwork was meaningless busy work that he only accrued because Shinra was not as competent as it would like the public to believe. It was so meaningless, in fact, he had been letting Annya do most of it for the past couple of months, with guidance of course, and no one had noticed.

However, working with his men was actually important. He would never be late for that. But he would be if he stayed to banter with Zack.

"I don't have time for this, Zachary. We start in two minutes, get in line."

Zack smirked. "Schedule changed. You're supposed to meet with the First Classes, which you would know if you had been on time and checked your email."

He swore and turned to leave.

"They aren't in their Training Hall."

He stopped and turned to his aide. "Where am I meeting them then?"

"Field Three. You'd better hurry."

He swore again. He would have to take it at a sprint if he was going to make it on time. He thanked Zack and walked calmly out of the room. The fewer people that had to see this the better.

The First Classes were clearly not prepared for the sight of their General barreling towards them at full sprint, six-foot sword in hand and long hair whipping in the wind. He came to a dead stop in front of them and they continued to gape openly at him. He straightened, cleared his throat and greeted them with as much decorum as he could manage. This just earned him a few snickers.

He sighed internally but didn't get angry. "Yes, it is very funny. I had a slight scheduling hiccup. Fall in."

They moved into formation and he hoped that would be the end of it. By the time the SOLDIERs made it to First Class he knew them well enough that he tended to give them a bit of leeway. Unfortunately, this also meant they knew him well enough to know that.

"Was it a girl, Sir? It's always a girl."

"Forty laps, Villers."

**xXxXxXx**

When Sephiroth returned to the office, Zack was leaning against his desk.

"You made it in time?" Zack asked, grinning in a way that told him the Second Class had obviously already heard.

He sighed. Today had started off so well. Now he had managed to not be late but he had done so at the expense of his dignity. At least when he had run half-naked from labs it had been after hours. So few people saw it that others just thought they were making things up.

He retaliated the only way he could think of. "How was your date with Cadet Strife?"

Zack sputtered unintelligibly. Scratching the back of his head, the Second Class murmured that it wasn't a date. Annya laughed and asked why Zack hadn't told her, to which he more adamantly repeated that it wasn't a date.

"Of course it wasn't." She didn't sound convinced. "So, how is Cloud?" she asked.

"Fine. And he's moved in okay. But he hates his roommate." Zack replied.

"You're the dorm director aren't you?" She looked at her brother harshly.

Zack ignored the look. "Nah. I can't show that kind of favoritism."

"Zack is right. For once. Cadet Strife has to learn proper discipline. And that includes dealing with less than desirable situations, " Sephiroth said.

She looked to him. "I wasn't really asking you. I don't see the big deal."

Sephiroth frowned. He should have realized that letting her go to see the new cadets would be a mistake. He had just been trying to be nice but now she had gotten attached to one and thought she could interfere. "Cadet Strife cannot learn how to be a proper SOLDIER if he is being given favors or constantly being coddled by some girl."

"Is that what I am now? Just 'some girl'?" she asked coldly.

He stared at her, expression stern. Is that what this was about? She thought she'd have free reign just because he'd asked her out. He would have to nip this in the bud. "Yes, a stupid little girl who is sticking her nose where it does not belong. Cadet Strife is now a member of _my_ army and therefore it is _my_prerogative to decide how his life is run now."

Zack begged her not to reply lest she say something she'd regret but she was already too hurt and upset to care.

"You sound exactly like Hojo." She did regret the words as soon as they left her mouth and then even more so, seeing her brother's horror-stricken face and the hurt that flashed in the silver-haired man's eyes.

This hurt, short-lived, was quickly replaced with pure venom. "Get out."

"I just meant he called me the same thing. Seph, I'm really— "

"No! Just get the fuck out of my office!" he near bellowed.

Her eyes began to water but she held back the tears and shot him one last defiant look, before turning tail and fleeing the office. She could hear Zack call feebly after her but she didn't care. She pushed on, no destination in mind, neither knowing nor caring where she ended up as long as it was as far away from Sephiroth as possible. Zack would be sure to come looking for her. Where could she go and not be found? The labs. No one would check there. And she could take out her anger on Hojo.

But no, she had promised Sephiroth she wouldn't. But then again she was just a "stupid little girl". What did she care what she had promised him. He was the reason she was upset. The reason she was trying to hide in the first place.

Her mind made up, she ran to the sixty-seventh floor. Her finger was millimeters above the door-open button when her sense caught up with her. What in Ifrit's name was she doing? She _was _being a stupid little girl. This would end up causing more trouble in the end than it was worth and she didn't want that, no matter how mad she may have been at the moment.

She sighed and lowered her hand, thanking whatever divine power may have helped her come to her senses _before_ she made a huge mistake.

Her relief died instantly as a horribly unctuous voice sounded behind her. "Well, isn't this a nice surprise."

Her world went black.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"How could she, Zack? How could she!" The General was incensed.

"Please, calm down, Seph. I know there's no excuse for what she said but you did call her stupid first. She can't really handle being called stupid," Zack said, eyeing the man warily.

Sephiroth just paced violently back and forth in front of his desk, muttering darkly.

Zack took this as leave to continue. "You both said things you didn't mean and you were both hurt. Maybe— "

"After what I told her last night? How could she? I am not like Hojo!" Sephiroth half-shouted at the second class, not having heard a word he'd said.

Zack was stunned for a moment before deciding that the General must have wanted some kind of reassurance. "No, you're not and you know it. Now if you'll excuse me I must go after my sister. I'm afraid she may do something foolish."

Sephiroth acknowledged with a kind of jerk of his head and Zack left. He continued pacing, venting his frustration through his legs.

He only paused in his pacing when he heard his office door open. It was Zack— alone. His heart sank. But he quickly shook it off. He didn't want to see her, after all, so it didn't matter. He glanced at the clock and blinked. It was six o' clock. He'd gone another day not touching his work.

"I can't find her, Seph." Zack said quietly.

This unsettled the General. Zack sounded genuinely worried and Zack wasn't often genuinely worried.

"She's not in the building as far as I can tell and she's not answering her house phone or cell," the dark-haired man continued.

"Is it that unusual for her?" He tried to keep his now steadily growing worry out of his voice. He was incredibly upset with her but he hadn't wanted anything to happen to her. He felt a small twinge of guilt.

"She has run away before but she at least calls to let me know she's okay even if she won't tell me where she is."

"And you checked the barracks?"

"First place I looked," Zack said. "Cloud even convinced a few other cadets to form a makeshift search group."

Sephiroth started pacing again hoping to jumpstart his brain. The only place it sounded like Zack hadn't checked was— she wouldn't have. She _couldn't_ have. "Did you check the labs?"

Zack looked at him, wide-eyed. "No. But she wouldn't— you did make her promise not to go there didn't you?"

"Of course I did. But I do not think that promise holds much weight with her at the moment," he replied solemnly.

"I'll go. We don't need to put you near Hojo if we can help it."

"No, I want to go." The silver-haired man sounded determined.

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I am sure. You stay here."

Zack shrugged. He wouldn't stop Sephiroth from going but he damn sure wasn't going alone. Sephiroth had a bad habit of not standing up to Hojo and besides, he wanted to make sure Annya was all right himself. "I'm going with you."

"No. The less people that deal with Hojo the better. Stay here," the General ordered.

Zack smiled. "Then you'll have to write me up for insubordination because I'm going. I'm you're friend and you need to realize what that means. You don't have to do everything alone. Oh, and there's also the small detail of that greasy bastard possibly having _my_ _sister_."

Sephiroth's expression softened. "Watch the sarcasm, Zachary. Let us go."

Sephiroth was out of the door and Zack quickly followed after him.

**xXxXxXx**

The sound of flesh contacting tile echoed loudly off the metal walls of the room as Annya was thrown unceremoniously to the floor. The room was completely barren, save for the two figures in the center, one sprawled on the ground and the other standing above her.

"What was that for?" Annya snapped, pushing herself up.

"Do you think I got where I am by being stupid?" Hojo asked simply. He grabbed her face harshly and forced her to look directly at him. "Sephiroth has been to see me even less than normal in the past several months. He always just happens to be busy when I need to see him. Since he doesn't make any of his own appointments anymore, I wonder exactly whose fault that is?"

It had been her fault of course. She had disliked Hojo even before coming to Midgar. It had been a name she'd heard many times over the phone and even though Zack would never be specific, her brother's tone had been more than enough to tell her Hojo was no good. When she had first started working for Shinra and she had been sent to meet Hojo for the first time, she had even decided to give the scientist the benefit of the doubt. There might have been the chance that Zack had been exaggerating. But Hojo had just slammed a door in her face and after that she was willing to take her brother at his word. She had since arranged Sephiroth's schedule so that he never had to be anywhere near the scientist.

Now, after last night, she wanted nothing more than to jam her fingers in Hojo's eye sockets but since her hands tied behind her back, she opted for spitting in his face. He made a noise of disgust and threw her back to the floor.

"I don't see what he sees in you," he said as he turned and walked out of the cell.

She glared at his retreating back, catching a glimpse of a Turk standing guard outside as she did. His suit was sloppy and his hair was so vibrantly red that his head looked as if it were on fire. "Reno!"

The redhead shot her a guilty look as the door closed.

She had interacted little with any of the Turks but she knew that they all hated Hojo as much as anybody else did. So, why was it that the scientist just happened to have one with him when he just happened to catch her in the hall alone?

She sat up and edged toward the door. "Hey, Red," she called, hoping Reno could hear her through the door.

"Yeah, kid?"

"You know what he's going to do with me?" She figured she was a bargaining chip to use against Sephiroth, but she wanted specifics.

There was a long pause. "Not really. Just that he thinks the easiest way to get to the General is through you, yo."

"And you can't get me out?"

"Sorry, kid," was the only reply.

She flopped onto her back. Well, Sephiroth had warned her not to go near the labs but she just had to go and break her promise. While true she didn't go _into_ the labs, she had in fact gone _near _them. And now she was paying for it. She groaned and prayed that Zack would come bail her out of this even though she didn't think she really deserved it.

**xXxXxXx**

Fear was not something Hojo felt. Fear was for people who could not explain the irrational with the rational: with science. Fear was the result of stupidity. And thus, Hojo was not watching the Shinra security feed out of fear.

Hojo had hacked into the security cameras because he was perfectly aware that two extremely angry, muscle-bound Soldiers catching him by surprise was not a good thing.

He'd been watching the halls outside of Sephiroth's office all day— his work lying neglected and forgotten— and there had yet to be any sign of movement. How long would it take Sephiroth to realize where the girl was? She had been missing all day, so he'd surely think to check the labs when she was nowhere else to be found. Even if just for his idiot friend's peace of mind.

Maybe Sephiroth didn't care for the girl. Maybe he was wrong. He cackled. _That_ was unlikely. Sephiroth wouldcome for the girl sooner or later.

It turned out to be sooner. Hojo watched, amused, as the General and his idiot left the office and headed towards the elevator. He switched over to the feed from the elevator camera, just in time to see Sephiroth press the button for the sixty-seventh floor. Looks like he'd be having visitors.

He thought it best go collect his insurance if the Second Class was tagging along. Sephiroth may be afraid of him but that didn't mean the Second Class was.

He ambled over to the holding cells, and rudely dismissed the grunt who was currently serving guard duty. The redheaded Turk had complained about being misused until Hojo had been forced to find some one else, lest his eardrums start to bleed.

Hojo opened the door and stepped into the cell. Annya was still on the floor, looking up at the ceiling.

"What do you want?" she asked coolly, refusing to look at him.

He stopped when he was about a foot away from her. "You're going to have to come with me."

She pushed her self off he floor, with considerable speed considering she had no use of her arms, and looked him right in the eyes. "You're going to have to make me."

"Look how cute we are! Trying to act all tough," he mocked patronizingly, pinching her cheek.

She kicked at his shin but it was pointless. A syringe was deftly jammed into her neck. She near instantly fell forward in a dead faint. Hojo caught her by her hair, smiling victoriously. He would have loved to see the fist full of hair in his fist rip from her scalp, leaving her to fall to the floor, but he couldn't have everything. He proceeded to drag her unconscious form out to the main lab so he might be there in time to greet his visitors.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Sephiroth and Zack stood stunned in entrance of the lab. They had braced themselves for any number of wounded and bloodied states they might discover Annya in but the sight that met them was somehow more horrific than anything they had imagined.

Hojo was sitting calmly at his desk. Annya's unconscious form was kneeling on the floor at his side. Unable to support herself, she had just fallen against him, head resting on his thigh, as if she had just fallen asleep there. He was scratching away at a notebook, his free hand gently stroking her hair, a gross perversion of a loving caress.

Zack's hand rose instinctively over his shoulder.

"I wouldn't be so quick to resort to your sword, Fair. You don't know what I've drugged her with. Suppose it's something of my own invention. Then, I'll be dead and the only antidote will have died with me," Hojo said.

The dark-haired man lowered his hand slowly, glowering at the scientist. "Did you drug her?"

"Yes, but it won't kill her. She just won't awaken until the antidote is administered." He idly twirled a lock of her hair around his finger, looking down at her thoughtfully. "Though I can't see why anyone would want to do that. She's much more agreeable this way, I think."

Sephiroth was drawn out of his shock. "What do you want, Hojo?" His throat was dry and his voice cracked.

The scientist tugged a bit of hair absentmindedly. "I think you can guess what I want."

"You want me to return to being a full time specimen," Sephiroth replied.

Zack stared at his commander suspiciously. "Don't even think about it, Sephiroth," he whispered.

"Not full time, no. The President is quite used to having you as his little toy soldier. I don't think he'd like it very much if I monopolized you." Hojo sounded bitter. "I would just like to see a bit more of you around here. You know, after the work day, on the weekends, holidays— "

Zack cut him off. "Every second he's not performing his military duties, you mean. You can't do that he's not a— "

"Whatever it takes to free her. I belong in the lab, not her," Sephiroth said, voice steadier this time.

Hojo raised an eyebrow. "Who said I would free her?"

Both SOLDIERs glared at him but only Zack dared to ask what he meant.

"I can't let her go. She's the only thing stopping you from killing me. No, your time in the lab, my dear Sephiroth, will only ensure she remains unharmed while in my care." He laughed. It was cold, heatless. The exact opposite of what a laugh should be.

Several things happened very quickly. Zack was running at Hojo, sword drawn. There was an enormous explosion from above, large slabs of burning plaster and metal rained upon the group. Annya was flung to the side, quickly lost beneath the flaming rubble. Hojo soon followed, knocked unconscious by a piece of ceiling as he fled. Zack rushed over to the smoldering pile to join Sephiroth in flinging pieces aside, calling uselessly for the unconscious girl.

It was Sephiroth that finally extracted her from the mess, battered and burned but clearly alive. He sighed in relief and let Zack know she'd be okay. Zack gave a kind of shaky laugh at the news and fell back against the floor.

Sephiroth held the girl close to him and straightened up. "We need to get her to the infirmary."

Zack smiled weakly. "Let's go before he wakes up." He followed behind the General but only after aiming a bone-shattering kick to Hojo's ribs.

**xXxXxXx**

"It'll be fine, loves. I promise." The motherly looking, head nurse was trying to calm two frantic SOLDIERs.

Sephiroth's and Zack's earlier relief had quickly abated once their adrenaline levels had a chance to lower while sitting in the waiting room of the hospital wing. It had been an hour and they hadn't consulted with the doctor yet. Just the same nurse who kept repeating the same thing: "it'll be fine, loves".

Just as Zack was starting to get fed up, one of the doctors appeared at the entrance of the room, introduced herself as Dr. Southers, and told them to follow her back to Annya's room. Annya was lying in bed heavily bandaged, hooked up to a heart monitor and an IV.

Dr. Southers waited for them to be seated. "She had a compound fracture of her right tibia. We've taken care of it. Her leg should heal fine. The burns and cuts have been dressed and they'll heal in time. The chemical she was injected with is the main problem; it's unidentifiable. I'm thinking I'll go ask Professor Hojo— "

"No!" both SOLDIERs said at once.

She was taken aback.

"He's _very_ busy at the moment," Zack lied. What was it to him if the old bastard burned to death in his own lab? He couldn't say he'd be sorry to see him go after what he'd done.

"Well, unless we find out what she's been drugged with there is nothing we can do. I'm sorry." She left them.

Zack buried his face in his hands. "What are we going to do?"

Sephiroth had no answer. He understood Zack's desperation perfectly. Hojo was the only one who knew the antidote and he would never tell them.

He looked at the unconscious girl. No, that wasn't true. There was still a chance Hojo would tell them. He would have to go back to the back to the labs, dig the scientist out of the rubble, and hope he was still willing to hand over the antidote in exchange for his promise to return to the labs.

Just as Sephiroth was about to make his move, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Zack said.

Reno entered, uncharacteristically somber.

"What do you want, Reno?" A thin, silver eyebrow rose slightly.

"I wasn't trying to blow you all up, yo. Just Hojo," Reno said sheepishly.

Aquamarine eyes narrowed dangerously. "That was you? You could have killed her!"

The redhead held up his hand defensively. "But I didn't and that's the important thing here, General."

"Turks are supposed to be good at finding out stuff people want to keep secret right?" Zack said suddenly.

Reno nodded.

Sephiroth's eyes widened in realization. He looked at the Turk sternly. "We need information."

**xXxXxXx**

Cloud was studying in the chair next to Annya's bed. He'd been doing this for almost the entirety of the last two days, ever since the Turks had promised to find out how to wake her up. He had agreed to keep an eye on her for Zack and Sephiroth. The General had been sent out to Junon for a few days and Zack wanted to save his leave for when his sister was reawakened. He still stopped in whenever he could spare a moment but was too busy to ever stay long.

The door to the room opened. Cloud looked up from his notes to see the redheaded Turk stroll into the room.

"Yo."

"Hi. You're Reno, right?"

"Last time I checked."

"Do you find anything out about the antidote?"

Reno's eyebrow rose slowly. "Yes. And you are?"

"Oh, sorry. I'm Cloud Strife, Sir."

Reno winced. "You can drop the 'sir'. You seen the doctor around here?"

Cloud shook his head. "But Zack said if you found the antidote, to just give it to her. The doctor would just waste time having her own tests done."

"Fine with me. I'll be right back." He left the room. Cloud barely looked at his notes again before the Turk was back in the room, drawing a clear liquid into a syringe from a small glass bottle.

"Did you just steal a needle?"

Reno shrugged. "How else am I supposed to get this in her?" He walked up to Annya and quickly injected the antidote. "Now we wait."

It didn't take more than a few minutes for Annya to regain consciousness.

A pained groan escapes her as she pushed herself into a sitting position. She surveyed her surroundings, eyes falling on Cloud and Reno. She asked them what happened and Reno explained, causing her to laugh.

"You blew up the lab, Red?" she said gleefully, "That's brilliant."

Reno grinned wildly. "Glad _someone_ appreciates my work. Tseng didn't seem too pleased. You'd think he'd never thought of blowing Hojo up himself."

Her laughed subsided. "Thank you. It seems you saved my ass twice."

"Nah. I didn't do much. You should thank Rude. He's the one that actually found the antidote."

"The explosion still got me out of the labs."

He shook his head dismissively. "I was planning that anyway. Just decided to move it up a couple of days." He turned towards the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a certain Space Program executive to guard," he said, disgust evident.

Reno gone she turned to thank Cloud to find he was also gone. He had slipped out while she was talking to Reno, leaving his notes behind in his chair.

**xXxXxXx**

Cloud stood outside the doors to the Second Class Training Hall. Zack had told him to come get him as soon as Annya was awake but he was still apprehensive about interrupting the busy Second Class.

The blond steeled himself and opened the door. He spotted Zack right away among the pairs of sparring SOLDIERs. He froze in awe. The way Zack moved was unreal. Effortlessly swinging a sword as large as he was, his movements were rough but confident. Cloud found himself broadening his mental definition of SOLDIER after so long believing Sephiroth's grace and technical perfection to be the epitome. He blushed as he realized he was starting to attract a lot of stares, hoping one of the side effects of mako wasn't the ability to read minds.

Zack spotted him before he could intervene. The Second Class stopped dead, almost eating a blade to the face and causing his sparring partner to curse. "She's up?"

Cloud nodded.

Zack turned to his sparring partner. "Sorry, Hart. I gotta go."

He didn't wait for a reply as he ran out, Cloud following close behind.

"How is she?"

The blond was struggling to keep up with the strides of the taller man. Zack was taking one step for every two of his. It wasn't fair. "I forgot to ask. I left nearly as soon as she was up."

By the time they reached Annya's room, he was completely out of breath. Zack, however, seemed fine if the way he immediately started interrogating his sister was any indication. Cloud sighed, impatient for the day that he'd finally join SOLDIER and be able to keep up with the Second Class.

He watched the siblings interact for a while, not really paying attention to what they were saying. Zack was making some very animated hand gestures. He smiled as the black-haired man laughed at something Annya had said. Zack hadn't been quite himself for the past few days and it had been bothering him.

He grabbed his notes off the chair and left, not wanting to get in the way. Zack could always find him later.

"Hey, Cloud. You wanna— and he's not here." Zack stared at the empty space he had believed the blond was occupying.

"That's the second time he's done that," Annya said. "I'm starting to feel bad about never noticing that he's gone."

Zack just kept looking at the spot till Annya interrupted him.

"How's Seph?"

"Good," Zack lied. Sephiroth was not good. He'd been off ever since the incident and hadn't answered any of Zack's calls since leaving for Junon. "He's in Junon."

"Oh." She sounded disappointed. "When will he be back?"

"Tomorrow, I think."

"Is he still angry?" she asked hesitantly.

Zack shook his head. His sister didn't look like she believed him. She of course hadn't seen what had transpired between Hojo and Sephiroth three days ago but he had a hard time believing that Sephiroth was still angry. Disheartened or frightened, maybe, but not angry.

"Can I go home?" she asked.

"Probably not. You may be up but you're still messed up pretty bad."

"I can rest at home. Same thing I'd be doing here."

Zack nodded. "All right. I'll go find Dr. Southers and see what I can do. I'll call Seph while I'm at it." He stood up and left.

He returned awhile later. Dr. Southers was with him and surprised to see her awake. She insisted on a checkup and when everything seemed in order, agreed to release Annya if she promised to return the instant she felt anything unusual.

The Fairs thanked the doctor and she left.

"Did you call, Seph?" Annya asked hopefully.

"No answer. But that's not too unusual for him if he's busy." He probably wasn't that busy but he wasn't going to tell Annya that.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Sephiroth shuffled into his apartment. He removed his boots and set Masamune in her rack. He had no idea what he'd been doing for the last several days. He knew he'd been in Junon but what he'd even gone for was a mystery. He'd been on autopilot for the entire mission.

It was late and he hoped his own bed would help him sleep. He hadn't slept in Junon. Nearly every time he closed his eyes the scientist was waiting. And when it wasn't Hojo, it was Annya. He'd yet to receive word about her waking. Of course, that might be because he hadn't answered any of Zack's calls. He couldn't bring himself to talk to his friend. If it hadn't been for him, Zack would still have his sister.

He took his coat off a slung it across his wheelchair then headed for the kitchen. He stopped. He did have a wheelchair. He started looking around for the intruder, who he found in his bedroom.

"Hi," she squeaked and waved weakly.

"What."

"Zack brought me here. Said it was to surprise you when you got home."

He stared blankly. He couldn't believe it. He had collapsed from exhaustion and was having another dream.

"I told him to put me in the guest room. But he just dumped me in your bed and left my wheelchair out in the entrance hall." She was starting to sound desperate.

"Annya?"

"Yes?"

He shuffled over and sat on the bed next to her. He hesitantly reached out a hand and brushed her cheek. It was warm. There was real flesh and blood beneath his fingertips.

He let out a shaky kind of laugh. "Are you all right?"

"Yes. Are you?"

He wanted to apologize but the words would not come out. "Just a bit tired."

"If you wheel my wheelchair in here for me, I'll get out so you can sleep. I haven't seen my apartment in days anyway."

He shook his head. "Do not be ridiculous. Go to sleep. I will see you in the morning."

"At least help me get to the guest room. You just got back from a mission. You should get your own bed."

He looked at her, eyes glinting. "My bed is more than big enough for both of us."

She stammered out something incomprehensible, suddenly very aware that he was shirtless.

He almost smiled. "Goodnight, Ay." He stood and left for the guest room, pausing one last time before closing the door behind him. "I am glad to have you back."

**xXxXxXx**

"You don't have to do that."

At the sound of Annya's voice, Sephiroth looked up. Her eyes were still closed, face set in a pained grimace, but at least she was awake again. After they'd gone to bed last night, he couldn't help fearing that she might not wake again. With all sorts of foreign chemicals having been injected into her she could experience unpleasant side effects ant any moment.

He continued unwrapping her bandages. "You need clean bandages. You bled a lot overnight. These are filthy. You will get an infection."

"I can do it."

He gave her a pointed look. "No, you can not. You are in no state." He ignored her sour look. "Anyways, how do you feel? Sick at all?"

"No. Just the searing pain from my open wounds," she said, trying and failing to sound conversational.

"Good. This mystery chemical of Hojo's does not seem to have any side effects yet."

"Speaking of Hojo, what happened to him?"

Sephiroth shrugged. "Who knows? Neither Zack nor I bothered to tell anyone about the explosion. Last I saw of him he was unconscious under a pile of burning ceiling."

"I doubt he is dead though," he added at her hopeful look. "I am sure someone noticed an explosion in the Shinra Headquarters."

"Shame," she said.

They both fell into silence as he finished up her bandages. Sephiroth stared blankly at his handiwork for a moment.

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly.

She was nonplussed. "What on Gaia for?"

"I never wanted you to get dragged into this. And now you're in far too deep for me to get you out. Hojo is never going to stop hunting you down." He looked into his lap, ashamed with himself.

She looked at him in disbelief. How could he be blaming himself? Everything was clearly Hojo's fault. And her own.

"This is not your fault, Seph." She squeezed his hand reassuringly. "I shouldn't have been by the labs in the first place."

"You never should have been put in that situation. I should never have let you get close to me. It was too dangerous."

She stroked his hand with her thumb. "You can't be blamed for wanting to get close to people. The only danger is Hojo. That monster is evil, the complete opposite of you in every way."

"You do not understand. You were correct before. I am exactly like Hojo."

Annya let go of his hand. "Knights of Round, Seph, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it that way. I wasn't thinking and you just said exactly what he did the day I first met him. It was a stupid thing to say. I was stupid. And right after you confided in me about what he did to you. You're _nothing_ like Hojo. You're not a monster."

Sephiroth snorted and found himself becoming irrationally angry. She had no idea what he really was. He'd told her about the experiments but he'd never shown her any of the results. She'd think much differently if she could actually _see_ what he'd become, he was sure of it. He felt a sudden, violent urge to make her understand, to show her the true extent of what he was.

"If I'm not a monster, then explain this." A large, black wing erupted from his left shoulder, knocking the lamp off of the nightstand. His eyes were shut tight, waiting for a shriek or a command for him to leave but it never came. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. She was sitting up now, one eyebrow raised sharply.

"A wing?" She sounded completely blasé.

He glanced away quickly. He felt something ruffle his feathers. He looked back at her to find her hand firmly entangled in the inky plumage.

"You mean to tell me, that you think having a wing automatically equates you to a 'man' who tortures children and kidnaps people for his own personal gain?" Her voice was strained with the effort not to yell at him for being silly. "Birds have wings. Two of them even. You don't see me shrieking in terror every time a sparrow flies overhead."

"It is more than just that. You have not seen me on the battlefield. The things I have done to people out there." His voice was equally strained.

"You're the general of an _army_! I know you've killed people. You were following orders. You do it out of duty."

He stared at her. Any arguments he had prepared seemed feebler now but he still wasn't convinced. "You do not know. You cannot possibly know. You have never actually seen. If you could see me when— "

She did not wait for him to finish his protest. "Do you torture people unnecessarily on the battlefield? Draw out their deaths so you can take pleasure in watching the light leave their eyes? Kill the children but not the parents so they forever have to live with the pain?"

He looked horrified and answered very quietly, "Of course not."

"Then you can't be a monster. You don't enjoy other people's pain nearly enough for that." She smiled softly.

"But I— "

His eyes widened, in shock. She had kissed him.

The kiss was over nearly as soon as it began. Annya jerked away from him in a maneuver so violent it must have been painful for her, looking quiet horrified with herself.

They stared at each other in silence. Annya was blushing furiously, wishing nothing more than to look away but finding herself unable to break eye contact.

"You need to rest. I'm going to work. I'll see you this evening." And with that he was gone. Gone before she could even begin to utter an apology.

She stared sadly at the spot where he had just stood. She had just wanted to shut him up and it had been the first thing she thought of. She wished she could take it back. Sephiroth hadn't seemed to appreciate it at all. At least that's what she'd gathered from his quick departure. She let herself fall back against the bed and, everything catching up with her, she started to cry.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Sephiroth found himself pacing in front of his desk once again. The morning's events had stirred turmoil within him. She hadn't minded the wing, something he himself had always been ashamed of, and for that he was relieved. She hadn't minded anything else either. But a part of him was still angry with her for being naïve enough to trust him. And he had no idea how to feel about that kiss. It had by no means been a great kiss— for all intents and purposes it had been downright terrible, given the circumstances— but it still consumed his mind.

He cared about her in a much different way than he did Zack. He had known that definitively after the kidnapping. But the kiss had resurfaced something that he'd been conveniently ignoring since the day they'd first met last August. She had ultimately come to Midgar looking for a husband and she only had about eight months left to find one lest her parents find one for her. He'd been content before with the idea of dating her but now it seemed like doing so would instantly condemn him to marriage. He wasn't against it but he didn't know if he was ready for that. After all, he'd only known her for four months.

On second thought, by the time it was her eighteenth birthday, they'd have known each other for about a year. That sounded decent, especially considering a significant amount of today's youth seemed to getting married the day after they met.

No, this was ridiculous. He knew practically nothing about her. He knew the here-and-now of her but nothing of her past or of what she wanted in the future. But it's not like he wouldn't have time to ask.

He shook his head violently as if it would help to untangle the mess that was his mind. What he needed was somebody to talk to, who could help him sort out his thoughts. He needed Zack.

As if on cue, Zack barged into the office.

"Zack!" Sephiroth shouted excitedly.

Zack's eyes widened and he took a step back, half shielding himself with the door. "Are you going to hurt me?"

"Of course not. I just want to talk." He pulled the Second Class into the room and shoved him onto a couch.

"Okay," Zack said, voice barely more than a squeak. At least stranding his sister in the General's apartment had done its job. He certainly seemed a tiny bit happier. Not any saner, but happier.

"Your sister."

When he said nothing more Zack prodded him for more. "What about her?"

"She kissed me," he said.

Zack sighed in relief. "Is that all?" He'd thought the man had finally snapped.

"No. I was thinking about possibly, maybe marrying her."

"Congratulations?"

Sephiroth looked irritated. Zack wasn't helping. Of course he had no idea what he had wanted his friend to say but he had wanted something more than that. "I did not mean that as in I was thinking of marrying her right now but just that I was thinking about the subject in general."

He'd said this all very quickly and it took Zack a moment to sort it out. "If you say so. What even brought this about?" If he was going to be accosted by an oddly acting Sephiroth at this hour of the morning, he wanted to know why.

"The kiss. I explained that already."

Zack's eyebrows shot up. "You may be understanding this conversation, my friend, but I am quite lost. Unlike you, I don't have the privilege of seeing into that frantic brain of yours," he said, amused.

This seemed to slow Sephiroth down. The General sat on the couch opposite of the black-haired man and explained every last thing he'd been thinking since the kiss had happened, collapsing against the back of the couch when he'd finished.

Zack was quiet for a moment going over everything he'd heard again. His first instinct was to tell Sephiroth to just go for it. The man hadn't mentioned anything about love but from what Zack had seen the General at least cared deeply for her. Annya didn't have time for luxuries like love anyway. Zack knew it wasn't in Sephiroth's nature to ever mistreat Annya and that was good enough for him. He felt a small pang of hatred for himself; it sounded like he was just using Sephiroth. He'd somehow have to find a way to do right by both his sister and his best friend because he couldn't bring himself to use Sephiroth like that, even for family.

He finally said, "If you wanted to marry her you'd have my blessing. It'll be good for both of you I think."

Sephiroth frowned. "You don't think it's too early?"

Zack smiled knowingly. "Ultimately, it's up to you to decide if you feel strongly enough about her. I can't really help you with that. But you still have eight months to decide, why worry about it right now?"

"I do not know. I just feel like I have to decide now. It would seem wrong to back out at the last second, knowing I would be leaving her to marry whatever man your parents choose."

"That's a worst case scenario. You don't know if you'll want to back out," Zack pointed out.

"I cannot expect her to take that risk though. I want to be able to make a decision, so she can start looking for someone else if she has to."

The Second Class rolled his eyes. "So make a decision. I already told you, I can't do it for you."

Sephiroth half-glared, half-pouted and Zack had to fight back a laugh; Sephiroth was not meant to pout. He smiled and shook his head. The General really was hopeless sometimes. "Look, if you really want my opinion, I'd say your choice was obvious. You tried to give yourself up to Hojo for her, without even thinking about what would happen to you. And this is a man you've feared most of your life. I don't know many people you'd do that for."

Zack stood and went for the door. "You still don't have to decide now. Just think it over for a few days then go talk to her."

Sephiroth nodded. "One more thing. Hojo already tried to use her just because she's my friend. What will he do if— "

"Just stop right there. Hojo won't be happy with the destruction of his lab— which he'll blame us for because we were there— so he will go after her again just because it would be the best way of getting back at both of us in one shot. Even if he finds out that you care about her even more than he originally thought, what worse could he threaten? Make her more dead?" Zack rolled his eyes.

"A fair point," Sephiroth said.

Zack gave a haughty little nod, proud of how he'd handled the situation, and left.

**xXxXxXx**

It'd been about two weeks since the destruction of the lab. Hojo had been found alive and was currently recovering in the hospital wing. The labs, in repairs, was being run by the head lab tech. Reno had so far escaped any serious trouble. President Shinra had been quite upset about the three million gil needed to repair the labs, and had promised that if the culprit was ever found, they would be immediately demoted to "lab experiment". Tseng, of course, had been able to tell immediately who had done it but decided the President needn't know. He felt that Reno was being punished enough, having been assigned to Palmer's guard detail for rest of the redhead's natural life.

Annya had stopped protesting being confined to her bed; Zack had made it quite clear she was to stay in bed or it was back to the hospital. She couldn't understand why Zack wouldn't at least let her move to her own apartment. She was going a bit stir crazy, with only the occasional visit from Zack and Cloud, and once from Reno. Then there was the fact that Sephiroth didn't seem to want her here. He had ignored her all week, appearing only to bring meals or let visitors in. He never stayed long enough for her to get a word in. To make matters worse no one would move her from Sephiroth's room. She'd been making him live like a guest in his own home.

Come Saturday, it was of great surprise to her when he stepped into his room. He stared at her for nearly a full minute, making her uncomfortable, before grinning stupidly. "You want some breakfast?"

"I'm really sorry about the other day," she said sheepishly. It was the first chance she'd had to apologize.

"I'm not."

She stared at him, expression unreadable. He stared back. He was still grinning stupidly, he could feel it. He left for the kitchen before he said something he regretted.

Sephiroth returned with bacon and eggs and staked out a spot at the foot of his bed so he could eat with her. They finished eating in complete silence. He wouldn't have called it an awkward silence, per se, but it was obvious Annya was still embarrassed by what she'd done.

Sephiroth thought this immensely silly of her. Of course that was completely unfair; he hadn't actually told her that he hadn't minded. Well, he hadn't even said anything at all. He'd just run out on her then ignored her for two weeks. Well, he'd have to talk to her soon. He had made a decision in the past week, but now that the conversation was looming closer, he started to feel he was insane. Telling her would practically be a proposal. He was relieved when she spoke up first.

"What time is it?"

"Ten o' clock."

"Do you need to go into work?"

"It's Saturday."

She glared at him. He laughed knowing it'd irritate her further. Her attempt at conversation had been feeble but he knew he hadn't helped at all by being short with her.

"If you're in the mood to converse, why not try leveling with me," he said. At her quizzical look he continued, "I told you my life story. What's yours?" Anything to stall for time. That and he should probably know the backstory of a woman he was considering marrying.

"There's not much to say. I'm not that interesting." After hearing about his childhood, she felt to elaborate anymore would just make her sound whiny.

He recognized a brush off when he heard one. It was odd. She'd never passed up an opportunity to talk before. She might be hiding something. Well if that was the case, it was terribly unfair. He'd been open with her when it had been so painful for him to do. He frowned and said somewhat sarcastically, "I'm sorry for asking. I wouldn't want to make you reminisce about anything painful that may have happened." He knew it was slightly underhanded but it was effective.

She felt the guilt rise in her chest. She really _should_ tell him if he wanted to know. Her life story wasn't even remotely as traumatic as his and he'd been open her. She fidgeted uncomfortably. "Fine. How much do you know about Gongaga?"

"Not too much," he admitted.

"Well, it's not like Midgar. It's small and very…traditional. Men and women are on completely different levels," she said bitterly. "The job of a Gongagan woman is get married, have children, and take care of the home. We get no professional training, no education, nothing that will allow us to function outside of a domestic setting."

This caught Sephiroth by surprise. "You never went to school? But— "

"I did get a chance to go. For a little while. I had always wanted to go but my parents never took me seriously. It's not that they didn't love me, I know they did, it was just our messed up social structure. The common belief is that girls aren't to be allowed to make decisions because they don't know what's best for them. But Zack convinced them to let me go. They always listened to him."

"So I was able to attend school with the other boys in the village. Often I'd join them in play during breaks and recess and the other villagers weren't at all pleased. It was improper for a girl to be outside playing in the dirt and acting rowdy. I was disgracing my family. But still, I was allowed to keep going because of Zack."

"It all changed when I turned fourteen, When Zack left for Midgar. My parents pulled me out of school the moment he was out of sight and was returned to full time preparation for life as a housewife. Cooking, decorating, cleaning. I hated it all but I never fought it. When Zack left he took that part of me with him."

"You two are really close weren't you?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yes. He's oblivious as to how much of an impact he made on my life. He would never believe that he was doing something extraordinary by fighting for me. Zack means more to me than he will ever know."

Sephiroth understood fully.

She continued. "I just went along with my parents wishes and tried to continue learning from Zack's old school books, when they weren't looking. Then, when I was fed up, I came here," she said with finality.

The abrupt end of the story startled him. "Is that it?"

No, that wasn't it. But she was sure anything she told him would eventually find it's way to Zack. She studied Sephiroth for a moment, opening and closing her mouth several times in search of what to say next. She finally settled on, "I suppose I can elaborate. After all, Zack will find out as soon as he talks to Mum and Dad.

"We've been up to some mischief lately then?" He smiled knowingly.

She shot him a sheepish grin. "Well you see, I'm not really supposed to be here. Mum and Dad don't really know I came to Midgar. I ran away."

"So, you lied to Zack."

She looked upset now. "I had to. Zack would contact Mum and Dad if he knew I was making them worry. And I couldn't stay there. I couldn't!" Her voice broke.

"What were you running from?"

She was quiet for a long time. "My fiancé."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Sephiroth couldn't believe it. He must have misheard. "What?"

"My fiancé," she repeated.

The words stung. He'd spent the past two weeks agonizing over his decision and it was all for naught.

"It's my parents doing. Not mine," she said reassuringly.

A slight relief. "But you're only seventeen. I thought you still have time to present someone."

"Technically, yes. My parents have to approve of my choice though and they have made it quite clear that they won't approve of anyone except for this man. I came to Midgar thinking that if I brought someone of greater status than my fiancé, someone who they never would have dreamed I could catch, someone— "

"— Like me?" He clamped his mouth shut, staring at her wide-eyed. He hadn't meant to say it out loud.

He was only brought back to reality when Annya spoke. To his relief, she seemed to have decided on ignoring his interruption. "He's from a wealthy family in the village. My parents were ecstatic when he showed interest. They never thought I'd capture the attention of, well, anyone. They accepted his offer for me and I just couldn't stay complacent any longer. I fought but it was in vain. My parents wouldn't hear of it and the villagers thought I was being ungrateful. After all, I was being given a secure, respectable future. What reason had I to be unhappy?"

"So you came here. To where the only person who had always supported you was," he said.

"Exactly."

"So why haven't you told him? Zack would help you and you know it."

"I do know it and herein lies the problem. The first thing Zack would do is talk to them. It's a miracle they haven't contacted him yet to see if I'm here. I'm in no rush to let them know where I am. They'll find a way to force me back," she said.

He considered her for a moment. She said nothing more but just looked at him, waiting. He sighed. She must want him to say something, but the only thing he could think of was something he was trying to avoid saying. When she had been staring at him unrelentingly for what seemed like several minutes he decided it was time. This conversation couldn't be put off forever. That wasn't fair to her.

"If I go home with you, your parents would approve of me, correct?"

She blinked once. Then again. She had obviously not been expecting that. "I suppose they would. I can't see why they wouldn't at least."

"Well, then, we— "

She didn't let him finish. "No. I can't ask you to do that. You haven't known me long enough."

He raised an eyebrow. "Currently I am the man you know best in this city. Anyone else you may meet at this point would be even more of a stranger than I am."

She smiled. "This isn't about me. When I came here with only a year to find someone, I was only looking for someone who was less terrible than my fiancé. Do you actually think I was ever expecting to find someone I care about?"

"Are you saying— " He couldn't finish the question. He was afraid of her answer. He didn't know what he'd do if she said the words he knew he couldn't say yet.

She faltered for only a moment before mumbling, "I do care about you. I was already a bit of a fan before I came here anyway." She looked flustered. Clearly she thought she'd said too much. "Look, just know that marrying you would be more than I had ever hoped for. I just don't want you to risk ruining your life like that. You don't have a time limit; you can go out and make sure you've found the right person."

She was glaring at him as if daring to make fun of her. He smiled, relieved she couldn't say it yet either. "So what if, while I'm out searching, the 'right person' is lost to me because of an arranged marriage. What do I do then?"

Her glare faltered. "Huh?"

He knew she understood, so he left it at that. He smiled to himself. Agreeing to marriage before confessing love. It was a bit backwards, perhaps, but who's to say it couldn't work.

The air seemed very heavy in the room since they'd stopped talking so he decided it was time to lighten the mood. "So, you are a fan? I was deceived. When we first met you led me to believe you were not a fangirl."

Annya, who had been gaping at him, quickly shut her mouth. "I am not a _fangirl_. I used to be a _fan_. Big difference. I read an article about you every now and then, maybe cut out a picture once. But I haven't done it in years. And I've never tried to dumpster dive for your underwear."

"I do not know about that. Zack has promised your room would be of great amusement to me should I go home with you guys for Christmas. He did not say why but I am smart enough to guess that it full of all kinds of fangirly things," he said slyly.

Her whole face reddened and knowing it was as good as a confession said, "You will _never_ see my room. _Never_."

He laughed. He wasn't normally a fan of his fangirls but since she seemed properly ashamed of her old hobby he thought he'd let this one slide.

"Speaking of Christmas, this means you're coming with us this year right?" she asked, still slightly red.

"Zack has been asking for four years. I will wait till he asks before I answer."

She smiled. "Of course."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Cloud didn't care how much he liked Zack, the man needed to shut up or get out. Midterms started tomorrow and he desperately needed to memorize the pages and pages of notes that were spread out over his bed, but the loud, unceasing chatter spewing from the Second Class destroyed any chance he had concentrating.

Since yelling at Zack had proved fruitless, he opted for stuffing his fingers into his ears and trying to ignore him. This, surprisingly, worked quite well.

It was not until he caught something moving in his peripheral vision that he even remembered Zack was there. He watched Zack out of the corner of his eye as the man opened the door, vaguely recognizing the female figure that entered. Just what he needed, the other Fair. Now, he had the complete set. Perfect.

He raised his head, removing his fingers just in time to hear her greeting. He waved half-heartedly in return, "Up and about again, I see."

She smiled but it faded quickly into an annoyed frown as she eyed the notes. She rounded on Zack. "Are you interfering with Cloud's studying?"

"Of course I'm not!" Zack said, indignant.

"He definitely is," Cloud said, exasperated.

Looking like a kicked puppy, Zack shuffled for the door. "I'll just leave then."

"Sephiroth wants to see you," Annya said quickly.

Zack paused in the doorway. "What for?'

She shrugged. "He just sent me to get you."

He gave a curt nod and was gone without even a "goodbye".

"Is he upset with me?" Cloud asked quietly, staring at the open door. He'd wanted Zack gone but not if it was actually going to upset him.

She ruffled his hair. "Nah. He's just being melodramatic. Don't worry about it. Your studies are much more important." Clearly the correct answer was "yes", but there was no reason to go and upset the cadet.

Cloud glowered at her and smoothed out his hair. "Go away. I don't like you."

"Right, right, I'm gone. Good luck with your midterms!" She messed up his hair again and, ignoring the choice swear words he aimed at her, ran out the door in a hurry to catch up with her brother.

Halfway down the hallway, she finally managed to catch the Second Class. "What's up with you, Zack?"

He looked at her, irritated. He really didn't feel like talking to her right now. "What do you mean?"

"_That's_ what I mean. You're not exactly your usual cheerful self. I mean, he just said that you were bothering him. There's nothing wrong with that, you know. Don't you think you're overreacting?"

Zack gave a noncommittal grunt.

"Seph tells you you're bothering him all the time. He's so much meaner about it too but you don't get all mopey with him," she said.

"It only bothers me when Cloud does it," he said simply.

She smiled devilishly at him. "I see."

Zack stopped in his tracks. "You see what?"

She just laughed and ran ahead for the elevator.

"Wait!" he called after her. "What's that supposed to mean?" But she had disappeared behind the elevator doors.

When Zack made it to Sephiroth's office, Annya was waiting outside for him.

"Seph wants to see you alone," she said before he could continue questioning her.

He shoved her playfully aside and entered to office, greeting the General.

"Hello, Zachary. Have a seat, please," Sephiroth said, indicating the chair immediately in front of the desk.

"Am I in trouble?" Zack asked as he plopped into the chair. The only time Sephiroth ever talked formally with him anymore was because he was mad at him.

"No, you are not in trouble— for once. I would just like to offer my congratulations."

Zack cocked his head to the side in confusion. "For what?"

Sephiroth had to fight back a smile. "For making First Class."

"Oh," he breathed automatically, having heard the words but absorbed none of the meaning.

Over the next minute, understanding started to spread over Zack's face. The General waited patiently, bracing himself for the impending, inevitable headache. Sure enough, an ear-splitting whoop resounded through the office as Zack leaped from his chair right over the desk. Sephiroth spent the next five minutes trying to pry the ecstatic First Class off of his person.

Zack reluctantly relinquished his hold on the General and made for the door and flung it open violently. He grabbed a very startled Annya and spun her around, shouting, "I made First!" before continuing down the hall whooping for joy, presumably returning to the cadet barracks.

As she tried to rebalance herself, Annya felt pang of pity for Cloud's midterm grades as she watched him go. She entered the office to find Sephiroth massaging his temple.

She smiled sympathetically. "Are you okay?"

"I'll live," he said.

**xXxXxXx**

He'd lost over a month of research while confined to the hospital wing and another six months of previous research because of the explosion.

Hojo stabbed at his lunch. He hated eating in the cafeteria; the other employees were far too loud and far too stupid. But it was the best place to get news of his quarry. If he wanted to get proper revenge against Sephiroth and Zachary Fair, he would need to be discreet as possible. They were surely already suspicious and any word of suspicious activity on his part would trigger action on their part.

This left the Turks inaccessible to him. The redhead had recently become friendly with Sephiroth and his tag-a-longs. He'd certainly go to Sephiroth with any information he heard. Telling one Turk was like telling them all, so the redhead couldn't be avoided.

No, it was best to just hang around the cafeteria. You could always count on the secretaries and cadets for having the latest gossip on the General. They all seemed to be talking about he Fair boy as well; it seemed he'd been promoted a few days ago.

He was attempting to eavesdrop on a pair of nearby air-headed secretaries, when a man stepped up to his table. This man was extremely tall and thin so that it looked as if he had once been a normal height but was grabbed from both ends and stretched. His light brown hair fell just past his shoulders and he had an over-large nose.

"I'm looking for a mister Zachary Fair. Could you direct me to him?" the man asked. Despite the politeness, his high-pitched voice was haughty ad condescending.

Hojo glared at him. "Do I look like a directory?"

"Not at all. I merely observed you sitting here alone and did not wish to interrupt anyone's conversation."

Hojo continued to glare at him, hoping he'd give up and leave.

"I'm not leaving. It is urgent that I find Zachary Fair. If you don't have any information tell me now before you continue to waste my time," the man said.

Hojo thought this very rich of the man considering he'd been the one to approach _him_. "Who are you?"

"Lucian Ate. I need to speak to him of his missing sister," he said.

Hojo's attention peaked. Interesting, he didn't recall hearing anything about her being missing. No, she couldn't be missing because the other secretaries weren't celebrating her absence. "His sister's not missing."

Lucian looked a bit confused. "Yes she is. She ran away from home. I promised her parents I'd collect her and bring her home."

Hojo stared at him. This could work. "She'll be on the sixty-third floor, turn left, end of the hall, last office on the right."

**xXxXxXx**

"Hey, guys! Guess what!" Zack shouted excitedly as he entered the office.

Sephiroth and Annya both replied with a monotone, "What?"

"Cloud's coming home with us for Christmas!" The First Class made an energetic hand gesture. "What about you, Seph? Will you finally be joining us?"

Sephiroth smiled slightly. "Yes, I think I will."

Zack sighed, disappointed. "Of course. You never want— wait. You will?"

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. "I said yes already."

Zack glanced at his sister then looked accusingly at the General. "You're only going because of her. You like her better than me, don't you? Oh, the wounds! They are deep," he whined dramatically.

"Shut up, Zack," Sephiroth said.

The First Class mock saluted. "Right you are, General. Anyways, It's great that you're coming with us! Mom and Dad will flip when all of us show up!"

Annya muttered darkly from across the room but Sephiroth clearly made out, "...bet they will." He gave her a sympathetic look. Zack had yet to find out she was a runaway.

A knock at the door silenced Zack, who was still talking excitedly about his Christmas plans. He opened the door since he was the only one standing at the time. He blinked before smiling broadly. "Lucian! What are you doing here? Haven't seen you in years."

Lucian smiled back. "Hello, Zack."

"Hey, Seph. This is Lucian Ate. I used to know him in Gongaga," Zack said, still smiling.

Sephiroth neither smiled nor responded. His eye flitted between Annya and this Lucian person. Lucian had spotted Annya and was glaring furiously at her, not a trace of the smile he had given Zack left. She looked as if she was considering trying to hide under her desk.

All of a sudden, Lucian rushed the desk and grabbed Annya's wrist, dragging her forward so she was pressed against the edge of her desk. Ignoring the indignant cries of the two men behind him, he began shouting at her. "You stupid little girl! How could you do this to your parents! How could you do this to me! Do you have any idea of the shame— "

He was unable to finish his sentence because he had been pulled away by a livid general who wedged himself between him and the desk Annya was sitting at.

Zack was now staring open mouthed at Annya. "What is he talking about, Annya?"

She put down the glass paperweight she had been fully intending to throw at Lucian's head before Sephiroth had blocked her way. "I ran away from home."

"Why would you do that? Mom and Dad must be so worried," Zack groaned.

"They are worried both about her and the family's reputation. That's why I came to collect her," Lucian interjected.

Zack turned on him. "Why would they send you?"

Lucian smirked. "They didn't send me, it was my idea. I have the right to know where my fiancée is after all."

The First Class sputtered. "What?"

Annya blurted out the entire story, leaving Zack looked at her in disbelief when she was done. "Mom and Dad wouldn't do that." It sounded more like a question than a statement.

Still smirking, Lucian placed a hand on his hip. "It is indeed your parents wishes that she marry me, though the situation isn't nearly as sinister as our dear Annya makes it out to be. We are all merely interested in what is best for her future."

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed, not liking the tone he'd spoken Annya's name in.

Zack's eyes narrowed as well. "Annya has until her eighteenth birthday to choose her own fiancé."

Lucian chuckled. "Please now, Zack. Be serious. Your parents have made it clear I'm the only one they'll approve. Besides, who else will have her? No man wants some one as disobedient as her; she'd damaged property so to speak."

"If that's how you feel, why are you intent on marrying her?" It was the first time the General had spoken.

"I like a challenge. Damaged goods can be fixed. I'll have plenty of time to correct her behavior after we're married." He flipped his brown hair over his shoulder.

Before either SOLDIER could utter a single angry syllable, something shattered over Lucian's forehead. He fell to his hands and knees, clutching at his bloody forehead, the once glass paperweight scattered in sparkling shards around him.

The SOLDIERs turned to face the girl. She was now standing next to the desk, two feet to the right of where she had been previously sitting; she had successfully cleared her throwing path of the General.

"You took it too far, Annya. If he is seriously hurt you can get in trouble," Sephiroth said quietly.

Her eyes narrowed. "I had to." She opened her mouth to say something else but thought better of it, settling for staring down at the now unconscious body. "We should probably go get a nurse or something. I don't think we should move him."

"I'll go," Zack offered.

"Take Seph with you," she said.

"No. I'm staying here," the General protested. There was no way he was leaving her here alone. She might very well try to kill the man. And If Lucian woke up, he couldn't imagine the man being all too happy with Annya.

When she didn't protest Zack deemed it safe to leave.

Very suddenly, Lucian gave a loud roar and lunged from his position on the floor. Not having expected the man to regain consciousness so quickly, Sephiroth had no time to react as Lucian rushed headlong at Annya, slamming into her so hard they hit the wall five feet behind them.

She struggled to speak but Lucian had her pinned to the wall by her neck, allowing her to do little more than scramble for breath. She dug her fingernails into his wrist and kicked at him but it had no effect. Through the mess of struggling limbs, he just glared at her with a crazed calmness, eyes unnaturally wide.

"It wouldn't have to be like this if you'd just behave yourself. Why must you be so difficult, my dear Annya? " he asked viciously. "All I want is to— "

His voice caught in his throat when he felt something sharp digging into his back. He looked over his shoulder, meeting eye-to-eye with the General.

"Let her go," Sephiroth commanded calmly, the added pressure on the sword clearly implying the "or else."

Lucian released his hold and Masamune was withdrawn enough to allow him to step away. Turning to face the white-haired man, he bowed. "My apologies, General. You shouldn't have had to witness that."

"It is not me you should be apologizing to," Sephiroth said coldly. He glanced over Lucian's shoulder and shot a quick warning look at Annya, for she had been about to attack him with a stapler.

Lucian smirked. "I do not need to apologize to her, I was well within my right. It is my responsibility as her future husband to see that she is properly disciplined. She is no longer a child and must learn her place in this world."

"Shut up," Sephiroth growled. "You should walk out of here now while you are still able to."

The brown-haired man studied Sephiroth apprehensively. Deciding it was in his best interest not to test this man further, he turned and grabbed his fiancée's wrist, attempting to drag her out behind him. This was a much harder task than he'd anticipated, considering she'd begun rapping his knuckles with the stapler she was still holding, in attempt to free herself.

"Annya stays with me," Sephiroth said, halting the man.

Lucian glared back at the General in obvious distaste. In a flash of comprehension, he snorted and said, "Really, General?" He yanked her arm, bringing her in front of him so she was in plain view.

"_Her_? I didn't think she was your type." To emphasize the last word he pushed her forcefully enough that she stumbled the distance between the two men. Sephiroth caught her around the waist with his free arm.

She straightened herself and pleaded, "Just go back home, Lucian."

He looked at her coldly. "I will stay here as long as I please." Lucian took a step forward but Sephiroth effortlessly intercepted him.

Lucian froze on the spot, Masamune aimed at his throat. "Are you going to kill me, General?" he asked, sounded more amused than frightened.

"If I have to," Sephiroth replied coolly.

A sudden scream from the doorway shattered the tension of the room. Zack had returned with the head nurse, who was now practically in hysterics, screaming something about murder.

"Overreacting a bit, isn't she?" Zack said, watching the nurse in rapt amusement.

Lucian scowled. He wouldn't get anything accomplished today. He turned and shoved past the First Class and the hysteric nurse.

Zack looked curiously at Sephiroth who sighed and said, "Sit down. It is a long story."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Sephiroth stared blankly at his coffee mug, having long since stopped paying attention to the fat man's rambling two hours into the meeting. President Shinra was droning on and on and on and on about the budget. Always the stupid budget. Well, he didn't give a damn about the budget; all he cared about was that it was almost time for lunch.

Lunch. That magical hour when he needn't sign a single paper nor listen to a single whiny cadet. A magical hour in which he could hole himself up in his office, unplug his phone, and take a nap. That magical time where he couldn't do work even if he wanted to because of company policy.

Before President Shinra could finish uttering, "and that concludes our meeting," Sephiroth was already halfway to the stairs. The elevators may be quick but he was quicker. Taking full advantage of his altered speed, he was able to make it to his office in thirty seconds flat.

"Wake me up in an hour," he said as he passed Annya's desk.

She watched him fall into his cushy desk chair, falling asleep almost instantly. The poor dear, no wonder he was tired. He'd been working twenty-two hour shifts for the past two weeks including weekends. She felt a guilty pang; he was both trying to make up for the time he had missed taking care of her and for the two weeks he was about to take off for Christmas. But it was the last day he'd have to push himself like this; they were leaving for Gongaga tomorrow.

Her heart dropped into her stomach at the thought of her hometown. It would be the first time she'd be in contact with her parents since she'd run away. Zack had said they hadn't sounded at all happy when he'd called them.

She wondered what had happened to Lucian. He had left rather complacently by his usual standard and she hadn't heard head or tail of him since. But it wasn't Lucian's inactivity that bothered her most. There was someone else who was clearly going out of his way to remain unnoticed.

Her train of thought was interrupted by a loud knock at the door. Her eyes instantly darted to Sephiroth, who twitched and gave a sleepy little grunt but didn't wake. It was a mark of exactly how tired he was. Anger flooded her as she rushed to the door to open it before the person could knock again. If it was Zack she'd murder him because he knew full well that Sephiroth wasn't to be disturbed.

She flung the door open, glaring at whoever was daring to interrupt Sephiroth's sleep, and had to suppress a shriek of disgust. "Good evening, Professor," she hissed quietly, watching the General from the corner of her eye to make sure he was still asleep.

Hojo, quite unconcernedly, pushed past her and stared at the sleeping man. "Pathetic," he said in disgust.

"Shut up!" she hissed pointlessly, for the sound of Hojo's voice had set off the warning sirens in Sephiroth's brain. The General's survival instinct tried to order his body to stand and put himself on the defensive, but the order was lost in his exhaustion addled mind and all he managed to do was knock over his chair and fall to the floor.

The room was deathly quiet. Sephiroth stared at the floor in denial once the situation was fully clear in his mind. No, he did not just fall. Not in front of Hojo of all people. Suddenly, Hojo's cruel cold, laughter broke the silence. It rang so loud in his ears that he could only vaguely make out someone telling the scientist to shut up. The sound tore through Sephiroth's eardrums, impaling his brain. The indignant protests faded and suddenly he was eight years old again, lying on the sterile, white-tiled lab floor, crying and writhing in pain as that same piercingly cruel laughter mocked him.

The laughter stopped. Sephiroth's eyes snapped open. He hadn't even realized he'd closed them. He instantly realized two things. First, to his absolute horror, was that his face was wet. He'd actually been crying just as his eight-year-old self had been in the memory. Second, was someone was wiping away the remnants of his tears with a handkerchief.

"Once you fell, we couldn't see you from the other side of the desk. There's no way he could have seen that you were crying," Annya's voice said softly, very close to his ear. This didn't do too much to alleviate his embarrassment, since she was the last person, next to Hojo, that he wanted see him cry. But it at least seemed to give him heart enough to try and piece together what was left of his shattered pride. He took the handkerchief from her and made absolutely sure there was no trace of tears left before standing and facing Hojo, his normal indifferent mask back in place.

"What do you want, Hojo?" he asked coolly.

The scientist shot Annya one last glare for good measure before speaking. "I thought, General, that since circumstances of the past months have prevented our meeting and today's the last day you're going to be here for the next two weeks, you might oblige me with a visit."

"You thought wrong," Sephiroth said. "My vacation starts tomorrow and it will not do well for me to be incapacitated for the next two weeks. You can just go to the dark corner of your lab and continue whispering sweet nothings to your Petri dishes or whatever it is you do down there."

Annya had to suppress a giggle of joy at hearing Sephiroth defend himself against Hojo. She would have preferred something more drastic, say, kicking the scientist out the window, but at least this was a start.

Hojo scowled. He'd have to leave if Sephiroth was resolute in his decision. He couldn't change the boy's mind, not unless he could somehow manage to get a hold of the girl. She was positioned perfectly such that she was half shielded by Sephiroth without inhibiting his sword arm, meaning he'd be dead before he could even try. Hojo glared at her. Nevertheless, the sooner he could dispose of the slum rat the better. The fact remained, that she was tainting his greatest work. Sephiroth would never have dared disobey him before.

He left the office in a rage. He would make that Wall Market whore would pay for stealing what was _his,_even if it killed him in the process.

Inside the office, Annya closed and locked the door.

"An entire visit from Hojo and you did not raise your voice once, Ay." He smiled softly at her.

"Yeah, well, last time I tried to mess with Hojo he almost handed me my ass and I ended up causing trouble for everyone. Figured I better shut up for once."

She looked at him. "You know, you still have about fifteen minutes left before lunch is over if you want to try and get a few minutes sleep in."

Sephiroth gave her a sad look and shook his head, knowing he'd never get back to sleep now.

"How about a quick lunch then." She held out a plastic container. "I brought it just in case. I'm sure you haven't really been eating."

He smiled and accepted the container. With the smile she gave him in return, something clicked in his mind and he knew. He knew without a doubt that he loved her.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Cloud was happily listening to his MP3 player while he watched the Fair siblings in great amusement. Neither of them had had the foresight to bring anything to keep themselves entertained on the flight and thus were now trying to scrape together some way to fight off boredom. The main problem with this was that they had to remain absolutely quiet for fear of death.

The General had been woken up twice so far: once when they had been trying to play Spoons— which was hard to do with only three people— and Zack ended up whacking Sephiroth across the head. Then he was awoken again, when they had switched to Go Fish, actually remaining fairly quiet until the foul-mouthed captain came back to yell at them for spreading cards all over the aisle, while trying to run Zack through with his spear. Sephiroth had promised certain death to the next person to wake him up and that's how Cloud ended up watching Zack, reclined, trying to build a card house on his face and Annya braiding the ends of the General's hair.

About an hour later, the captain's voice rang over the loud speaker. "Alright! We'll be landin' right outside of Gongaga in 'bout ten minutes! So sit your asses down and put on your goddamn seatbelts!"

Annya scrambled away from Sephiroth into the farthest empty seat she could get to before his eyes could open fully. He sat up and looked around at the other three, eyes slightly narrowed. "What is going on?"

"We're getting ready to land, sir," Cloud offered.

"Oh." Sephiroth said. He caught sight of the braided ends of his hair and looked back to the other three. Zack and Cloud both pointed at Annya.

"You guys suck," she mumbled.

"It doesn't matter," he said quietly as he began to undo the braids. Satisfied he wasn't cross with her she moved back into the seat next to him and helped him undo the braids.

"We've landed! Now get the hell off my ship!" The captain's voice sounded again.

Sephiroth shook his head as he stood and grabbed the bags from the luggage rack. He'd have to have a chat with someone about the falling public relations standards.

The group rushed off of the airship, helped along by the constant insistences of the captain. Sephiroth was in awe of how beautiful it was. He didn't often get a chance to admire other places that he visited. The village was small, no more than twenty or so cottages, a few public facilities, and the town hall, all covered in a blanket of crisp, white snow. It looked every bit like the little towns he'd see plastered on the fronts of greeting cards every winter.

The four of them headed toward one of the cottages in the western outskirts of the town, the Fairs leading the way. When they finally made it to the right cottage, Annya fell back behind the group. Sephiroth paused as Zack ushered Cloud inside.

"It'll all be alright." He extended his hand to her. She smiled and held his hand, allowing him to lead her inside.

Even if he'd never known Zack or Annya, Sephiroth could have recognized these four as a family. Mrs. Fair was a short, thin woman. Her hair though shorter was curly like Annya's but as dark as Zack's. Her forest green eyes were severe and unrelenting. Their father was much taller and also thin and what was left of his brown hair was slightly spiky. His violet eyes looked much friendlier; they were much more reminiscent of both their children's eyes than Mrs. Fair's were.

Mrs. Fair was already fretting over her son, shrieking about her "little Zacky" and planting kisses all over his face. Mr. Fair was the first person to notice Annya standing there. He did nothing more than nod once in way of greeting. She nodded back, glad he hadn't announced her presence.

Mrs. Fair fussed for another five minutes over Zack and then Cloud, before she realized her daughter was in the room. She immediately went into hysterics. "You! You show your face here again after six months! Not a single letter or phone call! Your father and I were worried sick! Oh, and the shame! Running away from your fiancé like that! The awkward questions! All the townspeople were convinced you'd eloped with some other man! They think my daughter a harlot!"

"Good to see you too, Mum," she said, laughing nervously.

Mrs. Fair's eyes fell on Annya and Sephiroth's still interlocked hands and she shrieked louder than ever. "I knew it! Oh, she _has_ done it! She's gone and landed herself in some rascal's bed! She's probably carrying his bastard child!"

"It's not like that, Mum." Annya protested. Blushing, she tried to pull her hand away from Sephiroth's but he just held on tighter. She looked up at him. He was looking determinedly away from her but she could still see his face had a dusting of pink as well.

Mr. Fair finally spoke up. "Zack, would you please take your mother to the kitchen and calm her down. Make her a cup of tea or something." Zack nodded, looking a little embarrassed himself, and led Mrs. Fair to the kitchen. Cloud followed after, them thoroughly enjoying himself, if the grin on his face was any indication. Mr. Fair nodded approvingly before turning to the remaining two. "You two I'd like a word with." He indicated for them to follow him to the other room.

"What, already?" Annya asked.

Sephiroth would have quite liked to ask this himself. He'd known he'd have to speak to her parents eventually but he certainly hadn't expected it to be within the first ten minutes of arriving.

"Yes, already. You're the one that decided to waltz in here holding hands with a man who isn't your fiancé," Mr. Fair said.

"Yeah, well." She scrunched her nose at her father, who pointedly raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, sir," she amended quickly.

Mr. Fair sat in his recliner and Sephiroth and Annya sat next to each other on the couch opposite of him. "I'd like to start off by apologizing for my wife's behavior, General. I hope you'll forgive her as she's in a bit of a state at Annya's reappearance. I assure you, when she regains her composure she'll be most appalled at how she has treated one of our guests. I pray you won't judge us all based on her behavior."

"Oh dear Leviathan, please don't," Annya muttered.

"Annya," Mr. Fair said warningly.

"Sorry, Daddy."

"Now, General. You are aware that my daughter is spoken for are you not?" Mr. Fair asked.

"Yes. I met her fiancé," Sephiroth replied.

"And still you pursue her? I hope you can appreciate the full indecency of your situation."

"Sir, I have every intention of marrying your daughter. I believe I would make a more suitable husband," Sephiroth said.

Mr. Fair stroked his chin thoughtfully. "With your status and level of wealth, you'd be a more beneficial marriage, yes."

"But?" Annya asked, sensing it in his tone.

"This is about more than money. Your mother and Mrs. Ate are very good friends and she's quite fond of Lucian," her father said. "I can't just break off your engagement because you ran away and happened to fall in love with someone richer than your fiancé."

"Can't you at least talk to Mum?" she pleaded.

"There are no grounds for me to bother doing so. Even if the General is worth ten times as much as Lucian, it isn't worth it to your mother to insult her friend. You were unlucky. If you had met Sephiroth before you were engaged I would have gladly given my permission."

"He's hits me. Is that grounds enough for you?" she said darkly.

The room was silent.

Mr. Fair was the first to speak again. "And how long has this supposedly been happening?"

She deliberated answering. "Ever since we were first engaged."

Sephiroth was stunned. That day in his office Annya had assaulted her fiancé first. He thought he had just witnessed Lucian retaliate. But if he had truly been abusing her for years, it's no wonder she had thrown that paperweight. She was trying to defend herself. But why would she not tell him something that important? Why would she not have told Zack?

Mr. Fair considered her. "Come now, I won't have you telling lies on the boy. If that was true you would have said something by now."

She looked at her father, betrayed.

Sephiroth decided he'd better speak up. "I do not think she is lying sir. I met him for just a few minutes and he was...less than gentle with her."

Mr. Fair looked hard at the man as if trying to catch the lie written on his face. He turned back to his daughter.

"Is that why you ran away?" Mr. Fair asked calmly.

She nodded. "It was the main reason."

"Why didn't you tell me before? Did you think I wouldn't do anything?" he asked.

She stared at the coffee table to avoid answering. She didn't have to, he understood perfectly.

"I'll talk to your mother," he continued.

Her face brightened. "Thank you, Daddy."

"Do you honestly think I'd ever force you to marry someone abusive? Even if your mother likes him."

She gave a noncommittal shrug.

"I suggest you two join the others in the kitchen now. " And with that, Mr. Fair left the den for his study.

Neither Sephiroth nor Annya moved.

"You should have told us," he said. "If I had known I never would have just let him walk out of my office. When Zack finds out he is— "

"Don't tell Zack."

His eyes widened. "Why? Zack should know."

"I don't want to cause him any trouble."

"You wouldn't be causing him trouble."

"Yes, I would. If he knew, do you think he would just take it quietly?"

"Of course not. He would help you."

"That's the problem. I'm sure you've noticed Zack is an incredibly likable person. He can get away with anything and everyone here loves him despite me being his sister. But Lucian is a very important person in this town. If Zack were to do something to Lucian, even he wouldn't be safe. He'd never be able to show his face here again."

"Zack would not care about something like that." He rested his hand on her shoulder apologetically. " I am sorry, Ay. If you will not tell him, I will."

She shrugged away from his hand. "You didn't want him to tell me about Hojo. Why is this different?"

Sephiroth closed his eye. It was a low blow. However, he knew it was only desperation that caused her to bring up the scientist, which stemmed his anger.

He looked at her sternly. "That was different. There is nothing you can do to help keep Hojo away from me. By telling Zack about Lucian, he may be able to help you however. That's why I have to tell him, do you understand?"

"I'm going to see how everyone's doing in the kitchen. I'll see you there if you want to come," she said evasively. She stood and walked away without looking at him.

He watched her leave sadly. He waited a moment before heading to the kitchen himself.

Mrs. Fair was sitting at the kitchen table, clutching a cup of tea, Zack sitting next to her, patting her back consolingly. Cloud was sitting a few chairs off chatting animatedly with Annya. When she noticed him, she smiled softly, letting him know he was already forgiven.

Upon seeing Sephiroth, Mrs. Fair rose from her chair and gave him an apologetic sort of curtsy. "Please, forgive my earlier behavior, General. I have no excuse for treating a guest so shamefully."

Sephiroth was startled. Her normal, calm, alto was a far cry from the shrieking he'd been privy to since his arrival. He could hardly believe this was the same woman.

Mrs. Fair addressed her children, sounding quite cheerful. "Annya, Zacky, why don't you show our guests where they will be sleeping."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Mom, we don't know where they're sleeping anymore than they do."

Mrs. Fair giggled. "Oh yes, of course. Silly me never told you. Well, Cloud will be sharing your room, Zacky, and the General will be put up in your sister's room."

"Where is Annya staying?" Sephiroth asked automatically.

"The couch."

"Oh, no. I will take the couch," Sephiroth said.

"Don't be silly. She doesn't need nor deserve a bed." She looked pointedly at her daughter. "Beds are for guests and children who don't_disappear for six months without a phone call_." Some of her former hysteria was beginning to creep back into her voice.

Annya remained clueless to her mother's indignation as her brain had wrapped around only one sentence of the entire conversation.

"There is no way Sephiroth can stay in my room. Cloud and Zack can stay in there and Sephiroth can take Zack's room. Just don't put him in my room," she begged.

"You're room isn't big enough to fit the cot," Mrs. Fair said sternly.

"They can share the bed. Neither of them would mind," Annya said, catching Zack's attention instantly. He shot her a warning glare. Cloud who had been watching the conversation with some interest immediately started an examination of the kitchen to hide the new color in his cheeks.

Mrs. Fair looked exasperated. "Stop being stupid," Annya twitched, "and show your guests upstairs."

Once Sephiroth, Cloud, and the Fair siblings were out in the hall, Zack grabbed the back of his sister's shirt to hold her back a bit from the others.

"What up, yo?" she asked. She grimaced as the last syllable left her mouth. Perhaps it was time to cut off her association with Reno if she was starting to pick up his speech patterns.

"You have to stop that," he said without preamble.

She looked at him, confused. "Stop what?"

"Stop hinting about me and Cloud. At least in front of Mom and Dad."

She smiled. "Oh. Touchy much?"

The First Class glared at her. "I wish you'd take this more seriously. I really like Cloud. It's obvious you've realized it but Mom and Dad have no idea and I don't think they'll be too understanding when they find out, considering I'm supposed to be carrying on the family name."

"I am being serious." Still grinning, she patted his shoulder. "I'm not stupid, Zack. Mom and Dad know nothing and nothing I've said or plan on saying will clue them in. I wouldn't out you like that."

Zack returned the smile and hugged her. "I know you wouldn't."

"I hate to break up this touching family moment, but are you two coming or not?"

They looked up to find Sephiroth waiting for them at the other end of the hall, looking a little irritated as Cloud fidgeted impatiently nearby.

"Yeah, yeah, we're coming," Zack said.

"No we're not. There's still a matter of unsettled business we have to attend to," Annya said loud enough that the other two could hear from down the hall. Then she whispered desperately to her brother, "We have to do something about the sleeping arrangements."

Zack grinned deviously and said quite loudly. "Well, we just won't tell him he'll be staying in the first room to the left at the top of the stairs."

The General didn't move at first. He looked at Annya, who was glaring at him as if daring him to even try it. Grinning, he took off leaving her to run after him, as pointless as it was.

When she caught up, he was already holding the door open staring into the room in utter awe. She fell to her knees, burying her face in her hands to hide her embarrassment. Zack and Cloud stopped right behind her not long after.

"Oh my Ifrit," Sephiroth breathed as he surveyed the room.

Three of the light pink walls were as completely normal as one would expect to find walls, but the fourth looked like it had been wallpapered with every single, picture of him that had ever been released to the public, from the life-sized poster he'd been forced to do to try and help SOLDIER enrollment, to the stamp-sized photos that were found crammed next to articles in some of the more obscure tabloids.

"I call that the 'Wall o' Sephiroth', " Zack said, looking thoroughly amused.

Annya gave an indignant squeak from behind her hands. "I'll kill you for this, Zachary Allen," she moaned weakly.

The First Class's eye twitched at the use of his middle name. All right, if that's how she wanted to play it. He pushed past the General, making his way to the bed. "Here you go!" He tossed something small and stuffed to the white-haired man.

Sephiroth stared at it, blinking. He turned the plush version of himself over in his hands before walking right next to Annya, who, feeling him looming over her, finally looked up at him. "Did you sleep with this?"

Cloud, finally getting a good look at the plushie, cracked up. Annya glared at him. Sephiroth repeated his question.

"Yeah, I used to," she replied, looking horrified.

He didn't reply.

Just when she was beginning to worry that he was creeped out, he smiled and handed her the plushie. She eyed him warily not even able to begin figuring out what was going through his mind.

She felt the sudden need to try and explain herself. "Look, I was twelve. I just haven't got around to throwing it out yet and—"

Sephiroth cut her off by placing a finger over her lips. Zack took this as his cue to leave, and slipped past the two, grabbing the laughing cadet and leading him back to his room to help him unpack.

"It is okay. I do not think you are a creepy stalker. As long as I never see pictures of myself on your underwear."

Her face still didn't return to its normal color but she raised an eyebrow. "And exactly when do you expect to be seeing my underwear?"

Sephiroth sputtered. He was saved from actually having to answer by a loud scream.

"What was that?" Cloud asked as he and Zack ran out into the hallway.

"I'm assuming it was just Mum," Annya said.

"We'd better go check," Zack said as he started down the stairs.

They entered the den to find a sobbing Mrs. Fair screaming at an exasperated Mr. Fair.

"Never you mind, Zack. She's just overacting," Mr. Fair reassured his son, seeing the concerned look on his face.

"Overreacting about what?" Zack asked.

Mrs. Fair, who couldn't speak through her sobs, pointed a shaky finger at her daughter.

"What did I do now?" Annya asked, irritated.

Mrs. Fair seemed to compose herself upon hearing Annya speak. "You ungrateful child! How dare you spread such lies about that sweet boy!"

"I hope you're not talking about Lucian because he's anything but," Annya said, remaining remarkably calm.

"Lies!" her mother shrieked.

"Now, Victoria. The General was a witness," Mr. Fair said.

"He's a liar!"

"Mom, Sephiroth wouldn't lie to you," Zack stated in a warning tone, forestalling his sisters protests.

"There you have it, Victoria. If _Zack_ says he's trustworthy, then he is," Mr. Fair said.

Mrs. Fair stared at her son with wide, almost frightened eyes. Very suddenly, she rounded on her daughter, who jumped, not having expected the sudden movement.

"You little _witch_. Ever since you were born all you've given me is heartache and shame! Picking fights, going to school, scorning your poor fiancé and insulting my dearest friends. Disappearing for half a year, then showing up with another man. Do you know what people will think when they find out you turned up with a man who isn't your fiancé? Then you tried to slander dear Lucian's name. Now, you've used your feminine wiles to hoodwink my little Zacky!" Mrs. Fair shrieked.

The kitchen was completely silent. Annya stared at her mother in open-mouthed disbelief. The old bat had finally lost it. "Did— Did you just accuse me of trying to seduce _Zack_?"

Mrs. Fair continued, seemingly not having heard her daughter. "Then, if that wasn't enough, you've ensnared the General as well! You've lured him into your little web of lies. What other reason would he have for liking _you_! You foul temptress."

"Shut up!" Annya's voice overpowered both her father's and brother's, who had both tried to admonish Mrs. Fair as well.

Mrs. Fair was shocked into silence.

"I would never force Sephiroth into anything. Never. I love him!" Annya snapped her mouth shut instantly, suddenly aware of five pairs of eyes all on her. But it was only the one pair and who they belonged to that concerned her right now.

She turned in Sephiroth's direction, eyes downcast so that she could only see the black leather of his boots. This had not been how she'd wanted to tell him. She'd always pictured it being a rather more romantic scene. One where they'd be alone, for one thing.

She needed to know, to look into his eyes. It was such a simple motion, but with the full weight of her future happiness relying on those few inches, it took all of her strength to lift her head.

There was a definite, comforting something in the aquamarine eyes. Relief washed over her. He didn't seem upset at all. A bit shocked, maybe, but not upset.

"_Love_?" Her mother's voice brought her crashing back to Gaia. "You think _love_ matters?"

She looked back at her mother. "I know you don't care but — " Annya stared.

"No, I don't. You _will_ marry Lucian and you'll be happy about it. No more of this nonsense. You will obey my wishes or leave this house. This family will no longer have need of you," Mrs. Fair said with finality.

"Victoria, you're making a great deal of fuss for someone who holds very little dominion in this house. You neither have the power to kick her out of this house nor to say whether Zack and I continue associating with the girl or not," Mr. Fair said sternly. "And as for Lucian, since you do feel so strongly about it, I will not call the engagement off yet. But I will be watching him, and at the first proof that my daughter is telling the truth, Lucian is out."

Mrs. Fair stared at her husband as if just realizing he was there. "Of…of course, Dear."

"You don't like it, do you?" Annya hissed at her mother.

Mrs. Fair made an indignant sound. "It's what I deserve. I stepped out of line. Don't assume that just because you spit on tradition, that we all do."

Annya snorted as her mother stormed off to the kitchen. Mr. Fair sighed and headed off as well, leaving the youngest four in the den.

The room was uncomfortably silent as they all stared into the fireplace, not wanting to speak first.

"Who's Lucian?" Cloud asked timidly.

Annya laughed bitterly. "Don't sound so timid, Cloud. After sitting through that, you're practically part of the family."

"I'll fill him in as we finish unpacking. You've got other business right now, I believe," Zack said, looking meaningfully from her to Sephiroth. His eyes locked with his sister's. "And we'll be having a talk later. I get the distinct feeling you're hiding something from me."

Her heart dropped into her stomach as she watched Zack and Cloud disappear as quickly as they could manage.

**xXxXxXx**

**Author's Note: **If you're interested, I uploaded a story called _A Fair Childhood_ which just shows Zack and Annya's relationship before this story. It is absolutely unnecessary to understand anything in this story. Just an extra for you. Thanks for reading.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Sephiroth replayed Annya's words over and over in his head as he watched her plop down onto the couch to stare at the fire.

"_I love him._"

They were the only three words he could recall of the entire conversation. Bliss: there was no other word for what he was feeling. But it was tainted.

He stared at the back of her head willing her to turn around, but she continued to stare resolutely into the fireplace. He was sure the antidote was to speak with her, but he refused to do so unless it was face to face.

He watched her for a long time, allowing the previous scene to seep back into his conscious thought. It was obvious now that she'd be more concerned with other things that had been said, that she must be hurting. It would probably be best to give her some time to herself, to let her cry without fear of being watched.

He turned to leave.

"I wish you'd stay," she said softly.

"Are you sure? I mean…" he trailed off, not knowing how to give voice to his thoughts.

"Mum's always like that. She doesn't mean it." She paused to reconsider her words. "Well, she does. It just doesn't bother me any more."

He sat down next to her. "Are you sure? She said some things that would bother anyone."

She smiled at him. "It's fine. Really."

He dropped the subject but he wasn't convinced. The way she was concentrating on the fire contradicted her sentiments. As interesting as fire was, it just wasn't _that_ thought provoking.

He allowed her to fall back into her own world for only a moment longer before he could no longer take he question burning in his throat.

"I really meant it," she answered preemptively, leaving him gaping, stupidly.

"Huh?" It was a bad recovery.

"That I loved you. I meant it."

He just stared at her, still open-mouthed. She was looking at him expectantly. _Why_was she looking at him expectantly? Oh, she'd want him to say it back, wouldn't she?

He closed his mouth and sat up a little straighter, trying to retain what left of his dignity. He began to speak, and was once again left open-mouthed as the words stuck in his throat.

He was beginning to grow angry. What on Gaia did his brain think it was up to, trying to make a fool out of him like this? He was supposed to be cool and collected at all times, and here was, gaping like an idiot. It wasn't helping that she had downcast her eyes, clearly trying not to laugh. This was really lovely. He couldn't imagine a more romantic situation.

He tried again and this time actually managed to speak, though what came out wasn't what he'd intended. "I can't say it."

His heart plummeted into his lower abdomen as disappointment replaced the laughter in her face, and he hasted to correct his error. "It's not that I don't _want_to say it. I just can't. It doesn't feel right."

The look on her face did not indicate that he was doing anything to fix the situation. "You're still technically engaged."

Her disappointment faded slightly as soon as he'd uttered the last word. "You don't want to say it while I'm still engaged to someone else."

He nodded enthusiastically, glad to finally be on the right track. "If your engagement isn't broken off, it seems like it'll just make it so much worse if I say it out loud."

"That's an awfully pessimistic way to look at it," she said.

"I suppose."

"That's fine. You don't need to say it. I wouldn't want you to unless you were really comfortable with it anyway."

"Thank you."

Her eyebrows knitted in confusion.

"For being patient with me. It's not something you're usually good at." He laughed at the annoyed look on her face.

Suddenly, her lips were on his, cutting him off mid-laugh. As she moved away, he opened his eyes slowly, not remembering when he closed them. It happened just as quickly as the first one. He felt a pang of disappointment. This was the second time she'd kissed him and neither time had he been given much of a chance to enjoy it.

"Zack is right. I really should start talking more," he said.

She raised a quizzical brow. "Why's that?"

"Because the only time you kiss me is to shut me up," he elaborated.

She smiled, half-amused, half-annoyed, before telling him to shut up.

He anticipated the kiss and she wasn't going to get away this time. Getting a firm grip on her waist, he held her close. To his surprise, she was allowing him to take control.

When he released his hold on her, she only pulled back a few inches, remaining very close to him, looking at him with something akin to subservience. The greater part of him wanted nothing more than to kiss her again, but the sight of Annya with such a foreign, slavish expression unsettled some tiny part of him.

"You two," a cool voice called from the entrance to the den.

Annya's head snapped around to face the newcomer, much to Sephiroth's disappointment.

"What the matter, Daddy?" she asked.

"For the love of Bahamut, I only barely got your crazy mother to settle down. Are you trying to set her off again?" he said pointedly.

"Sorry," she said, smiling in spite herself.

He walked off, muttering all the way. "Right in the middle of the den. What's wrong with young people?"

Sephiroth looked at her, brows raised.

Annya just smiled.

**xXxXxXx**

Cloud glared at Zack as, for the third time in the past ten minutes, a pillow slid off of his face and onto the floor.

"Don't look at me like that, Cloud. If you actually take the stupid pillow, I'd stop throwing it at you," Zack said, laughing.

Cloud sighed. "The last time I checked neither of us is ten years old."

"So what? We don't have to be ten to have a pillow fight!" Zack threw another pillow at Cloud, who was ready for it this time.

The cadet was clutching the pillow in a white-knuckled grip. "Yes. Yes, you do."

"Don't be such a stiff," the First Class cried as he whacked Cloud over the head with his own pillow.

Cloud closed his eyes and clenched his teeth in attempt to stem his anger. After two more hits from the pillow in Zack's possession, the blonde launched himself at him.

Zack cried out and tried to shield his head. He tried to run for it, but Cloud was relentless in chasing after him.

"Wait. Wait!" Zack cried as he tried to squeeze himself under his bed.

"Wait for what? I thought this was what you wanted," Cloud said triumphantly. The First Class was cornered now, having not been able to fit in the space under his bed.

The blonde raised his pillow high over his head, preparing for the final blow, and in a last ditch effort, Zack threw his own pillow at Cloud's head. As soon as it made contact, the pillow was no more, gone in an explosion of feathers.

When the feathers settled, Zack burst into laughter. "Your hair popped the pillow!"

Cloud shot him an annoyed look. "You have no right to make fun of _my_hair."

Still laughing, the First Class said, "Now what's that supposed to mean? My hair is beautiful and luxurious. Heck, I could outdo the General."

The cadet gave a snort of laughter.

Zack pouted.

Cloud rolled his eyes and hoisted himself up onto the edge of his cot. "Should we clean all of this up?" He made a gesture indicting the feathers.

"Nah. I'll get it later," Zack said. He looked on the cadet sitting on the cot, considering him for a moment. "Say, Cloud, why don't you take the bed?"

"I'm not taking your bed, Zack."

Zack smiled. "Come on! You're my guest. I can't have you sleeping on a stupid cot. And besides, I'm used to sleeping on cots. Being a SOLDIER and all."

The cadet still looked unsure.

"You can't tell me you want to pass up a real bed after having nothing but those bunks in the cadet barracks. I remember my cadet years, and those beds sucked big time. You take the bed. I insist." He mock bowed to the blonde.

Cloud's face brightened and dived off the cot and onto the bed. "Thanks, Zack!"

The First Class grinned broadly. "Hey, it's no problem. You're doing me a favor. I've gotten you into my bed on day one. Better than I could have hoped for!"

Cloud glared at him, cheeks tinged pink. "Stop being an idiot."

A pillow to the face stifled Zack's laughter.

Before the First Class could retaliate, a voice interrupted them. "Oh my, what happened in here?"

"One of my pillows spontaneously exploded. You should have seen it, Mom. It was weird," Zack said.

"Sorry, about that, Mrs. Fair. We'll clean it up," Cloud said.

"Oh, that's sweet, dear. But no, I can't have you cleaning it up. I'll have Anastasia do it," Mrs. Fair said, her lips twitching as her daughter's name left her lips.

"Please, don't do that," Zack pleaded. They'd had enough trouble for one day.

"I'll be back in a minute!" Mrs. Fair cried cheerfully, ignoring her son's plea.

"Do you want some ear plugs? I have a whole bunch of them in here somewhere," Zack said as he started looking around in some of the drawers in his nightstand.

Cloud laughed but refused.

A moment later Annya walked into the room, carrying a trashbag and vacuum, and looking rather angry. "Get out."

"It's my room!" Zack said indignantly.

"Which I'm going to clean. Now leave. I don't want you getting in the way," she said.

"Why are you doing it then?" Zack asked.

"I don't have a choice. Now go," she said as she shooed the two out of the room.

Zack looked back woefully at his room as the door shut behind him. "I don't want her in there."

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Why not?"

"She'll mess with my stuff. Just because she thinks it's funny. You obviously don't have siblings," the First Class said as he sauntered down the hall.

"Nope," replied the blonde as he began following the older man. "It's just me and Mom."

This piqued Zack's attention. "About that, I've been meaning to ask you, why didn't you go back to Nibelheim for Christmas?"

"If you don't want me here that badly, I can leave."

Zack waved his hands in front of him, in a negatory gesture. "No, no! I want you here."

Cloud smiled. "I was going to stay in the barracks over break so Mom wasn't expecting me anyway. I figured Christmas would be more fun here than at Shinra."

"You've got that right. I stayed in Midgar one year and it was terrible. You made a good choice." He stopped walking in front of Annya's door.

"What are we doing?" the cadet asked suspiciously.

Zack grinned sheepishly. "I'm not letting her get away with whatever she's doing. I'm gonna mess up her stuff too."


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note:** And with this chapter, I'm all caught up with my rewrites. I have the next four chapters sketched out so you'll be getting an actual new chapter soon. Yay! Once again, I'm sorry for the ridiculously long wait.

**Chapter 20**

She never wanted to see another feather again. It'd taken her a full two hours to find every last feather among the piles of junk on Zack's floor. It was incredible how fast Zack had messed up his room. He must've done it in the few short hours they'd been back already. There was no way her mother would have left it this messy since last Christmas.

Annya grumbled as she left her brother's room, dragging the trashbag full of feathers along behind her. She was going to stuff the sucker in the back of her closet. Why get rid of a perfectly good trashbag of feathers? They might come in handy one day.

She entered her room and jumped when she saw Sephiroth lounging on her bed, reading. When she thought about it, it shouldn't surprise her that he was in here. It is where he is staying and wandering around a strange house would probably feel awkward if she or Zack wasn't with him.

"Hello," he greeted with a knowing smile.

She didn't like his tone. "What's going on?"

"Nothing. I am just glad to see your beautiful face again," he said evasively.

Her eyes narrowed but she dropped it and went to stuff the bag in the closet. She was sure she'd find out what was going on sooner or later.

He watched her forcing the bag into the very back of the closet. "I am afraid to ask but why the bag of feathers?"

She looked at him slyly. "I was thinking maybe I'd tar and feather Zack. We'll see if he destroys anymore pillows after that."

"What are you going to use for tar?"

"Shut up and go back to your reading," she said huffily. She looked more closely at the small piles of books that were surrounding him. "Did you read all of those already?"

"No. I was just looking to see what _you_ have read." He motioned at one of the piles. "_Advanced Calculus: A Complete Course_, _Understanding Advanced Physics_, _A Lesson in Advanced Programming_. Do you understand all of these?"

She paused for a moment. "No. Those subjects are rather hard to learn when you're only trying to squeeze in fifteen minutes of reading here and there behind your parents' backs."

She let herself fall sloppily backwards onto the bed so she was lying askew across his legs, and picked up a copy of _The Divine Tragedy_. "This is more my speed. Things like literature and history I could easily enough teach myself. Either way, these aren't my books. Like I told you before, I took all of Zack's old ones."

The General looked at her, dumbfounded. "These are _Zack's_?" He waved _Advanced Calculus: A Complete Course_ for emphasis.

She smiled. "Yeah."

"That explains why he joined the military then. He flunked out of school."

"Actually, he got mostly A's. Your faith in your friend really is touching, you know," she said, her voice heavy with sarcasm. She looked slightly to the right to grab another book, and something caught her eye. Two somethings actually. Two black, leather somethings.

She jerked into a sitting position so that she was looking him right in the eye. "You didn't take your boots off before putting your feet up on my bed!"

He looked down at his boot-clad feet before shooting her an affronted look. "Of course I did. That's just what my feet look like."

She glared at him. "Fantastic. You have your nasty boots up on my sheets and you think it's funny."

"Alright, alright, I'll take them off." He proceeded to do so and tossed the boots to the floor. "Better?"

"No." She pouted. "Now I can tell your feet stink."

He laughed. "Well, that happens—despite my best efforts—when one wears the same pair of boots everyday, marching through marshes and deserts, and the like. I'd like to see you try it and not have your feet stink."

"Don't you have another pair of shoes though? You change out of the rest of your uniform when you're off duty, so why keep the boots?" she asked.

"I like to be ready for an attack at all times. I don't want to get caught in an uncomfortable pair of boots I haven't broken in yet. These boots are already comfortable, as I've had them for years, and still function perfectly. I see no reason to get new ones," he said.

"I think funky feet is a pretty good reason."

He smiled. "Sorry, you're just going to have to learn to live with them."

She shot his feet a disgusted look. "Fine. But you're washing my sheets before you leave."

A shout of "Dinner!" rang though the house.

"Food!" she cried, jumping up happily. She tugged on his arm. "Let's go."

He sighed and allowed her to pull him along until the landing at the top of the stairs. She stopped abruptly and he didn't, colliding right into her. If his reflexes had been any slower she would most certainly be lying at the bottom of the stairs, broken and bleeding.

"What did you stop for?" he asked, a hint of leftover panic in his voice.

She pointed at the lighting fixture hanging from the ceiling over the stairs. The Sephiroth plushie was hanging suspended from it, a firecracker strapped to its back.

Sephiroth leaned on the railing. "Ah. So that's what he did with it," he said, sounding amused.

She narrowed her eyes at the General. "You knew he took it?" She didn't have to ask who took it. She knew who it had to be.

"Yeah, he was already in the room when I went in. So he saw me take it," Zack said, appearing on the lower landing, rolling a fire materia in his hands.

She advanced on her brother. "Don't you dare, Zachary. What'd I do to you anyway?"

"You did something when you were up in my room. I know you too well to think otherwise," the First Class said, holding the materia up higher as she tried to snatch it.

She made a leap for the materia but hit the wall as Zack dodged. "All I did was tidy up a bit. Threw away a bunch of junk. That's not worth Sephy getting injured," she said as she rubbed the spot on her forehead that had hit the wall.

Sephiroth's eyebrows shot up at this. "Sephy? You've named it, then."

She glared up at him. "If you're not going to help, be quiet. Someone's life is on the line here."

"It's not alive." Cloud said, as he appeared behind Zack.

"I know it's not alive!" she snapped. "What are you doing here anyway?"

The blonde shrugged. "I wanted to see the plushie explode."

"Well, you're in luck," Zack said as he flicked his wrist.

The fizzing sound of a light wick drew their attention up to the ceiling. The four of them watched— one in horror, three in amusement—as the flame reached the end of the wick and the firecracker exploded, raining smoldering pieces of stuffing upon them all.

Annya flicked a piece of burnt fluff off her shoulder and glared at Zack and Cloud. True, Sephiroth was chuckling a bit, but not nearly as hard as the two of them, who were laughing so hard they had to lean on each other for support lest they fall down the stairs.

A pair of arms wrapped around her from behind. She tilted her head back to meet Sephiroth's smile. He kissed her forehead and her expression softened enough to allow her to smile back.

"See, you don't need to be upset. You've got a life-sized plushie," Zack said, having recomposed himself.

As soon as Cloud was able to speak again he straightened to look at her too. "Oh, come on. If you didn't think that was at least a little cool you're dead inside."

"It was pretty neat," she admitted. "I'm just mad because I'm going to have to be the one to clean it up."

"We should all head down to dinner first, and then we'll help you clean it up. We shouldn't keep your mother waiting anymore," the General offered.

She nodded and the four of them set off for the kitchen.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note: **Rewrites are all done. First new chapter. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

**Chapter 21**

Annya sat up in a panic. She looked around her wildly only to relax when she realized she was on the couch in her living room and not in immediate danger. She had been having a nightmare but now that she was awake again she couldn't remember a single thing about it. Parched, she stood up and went in search of water.

She entered the kitchen and screamed when two pairs of glowing eyes were watching her out of the darkness.

"Sorry, Ay."

She could hear the smirk in that familiar voice. She quickly fumbled around in the darkness for the light switch and only breathed a sigh of relief when she could actually see again.

Sephiroth and Zack were sitting at the kitchen table. Sephiroth was still smirking at her. Zack looked the least amused she'd ever seen him.

"Zack?" she asked, worried.

"I was just asking Sephiroth if he knew what was happening earlier. What lies Mom was accusing you of telling about Lucian. Why Dad said he'd be watching him."

"I was hoping you'd forget about that."

"Does Lucian hit you?"

She needed that water more than ever. Anything to stall. She slowly walked over to the cupboard, removed a glass, and filled it at the sink. She could feel Zack's eyes on her back the entire time. She threw her head back and drank it in one gulp. She cringed as Zack's stern voice interrupted her from refilling the glass.

"Annya."

She turned to face him. She forced a smile, "Seph already told you, right? It's not a big— "

"Does he hit you?" His austere expression did not change.

She quickly glanced to Sephiroth for assurance. He gave her a single nod. She slowly looked back to her brother and took a breath.

"Yes," she answered, much more quietly than she'd anticipated.

The second the word was out of her mouth Zack was on his feet.

"Zack. Where are you going?" she asked, alarmed by the sudden movement.

He didn't answer, just closed the distance between them and pulled her into an embrace. Sephiroth slipped out of the kitchen unnoticed.

"We're going back to Midgar."

She was startled. "Right now?"

He smiled for the first time that night. "No. After Christmas. And we're staying there. Both of us. No matter what Mom and Dad say. This might be our last Christmas with them."

"But Zack— "

"I'll try to resolve this peacefully one last time sometime tomorrow. If they still insist on letting Lucian marry you after that, despite what you've told them then I have nothing more to say to them."

**xXxXxXx**

"Breakfast, Ay?"

Annya stopped dead in the kitchen doorway and stared, open-mouthed, at her mother. "Did you just all me 'Ay'?"

"Come now, come. Sit, sit, and sit!" Mrs. Fair goaded as she prodded her daughter into an empty chair.

A steaming plate of food was set down in front of her a few seconds later and she looked in alarm at the table's other occupants.

All of the men were already half way through their own plates of waffles, eggs, and bacon. Her father, brother, and Sephiroth were all refusing to let her catch their eyes, very intent on their breakfasts and looking very solemn indeed. Only Cloud waved cheerily and said good morning.

"Is this poisoned?" she asked the blond, who just shrugged in return.

She pushed the food around with her fork for a bit before picking up a piece of bacon and sniffing experimentally at it.

"Annya, don't play with your food. It's not lady-like," her father chastised softly.

She snorted and pushed her plate away, glaring at it distrustfully.

"If you're not hungry, give it to your brother," Mrs. Fair chirped.

Annya eyed her mother warily. "Why are you being nice to me?"

Mrs. Fair giggled. "You're my daughter. Do I need a reason to be nice to you?"

"Yes," she replied bluntly.

"It's the holiday season. We shouldn't stay mad at eachother. Let's just call it water under the bridge and move on." Mrs. Fair kissed her on the forehead and Annya immediately recoiled, falling out of her chair in the process.

"What did you do?" Annya demanded, as she picked herself up from the floor.

"Do, dear? I haven't done anything," Mrs. Fair replied, sounding hurt.

"Yes, you did. You did something and now you're being nice to me in hopes that I won't be mad later," she accused.

"Since when have I cared about your approval?" A dangerous edge was beginning to work its way back into Mrs. Fair's voice.

"Then you must want something from me," Annya said.

Mrs. Fair paused for a long moment. "The Christmas Dance is tonight. We'll all be in front of the whole town. All I ask is that you be cordial and try not to make a scene."

Annya glanced at Sephiroth once before answering. "Fine. I'll try."

"Good," Mrs. Fair said shortly.

They gave each other wide, fake smiles before returning to their separate business.

**xXxXxXx**

After breakfast, the Fair siblings decided to take Sephiroth and Cloud to their favorite childhood spot, a dilapidated bridge over a creek in the forested outskirts of town.

Zack and Cloud were seated next to each other on top on the railing. Sephiroth was standing on the banks leaning against one of the piers a little ways from Cloud, who was covertly sticking as many twigs as he thought he could get away with into his silver hair. Annya was crouched next to the creek playing with stones.

"Did you talk to Dad?" Annya asked, tossing a stone into the water.

He looked down at her. "I did. It didn't go the way I wanted it to. I wanted him to just call off the engagement right away. Unfortunately he made a good point."

"What point?"

"That there is no way to call off the engagement without insulting Lucian. I really don't care about insulting Lucian given the circumstances but Seph told me you're strongly against that."

She smiled thankfully at Sephiroth before answering, "I don't want you ending up destroying all your relationships here because of me."

"You're more important to me, Ay."

"And you're important to me, Zack. That's why we have to think of something that won't mean you can never show your face in Gongaga again."

The First Class frowned. "Dad said he'd be more than happy to call off the engagement. He just needs proof in order to break it off and still save face." He hesitated before finishing. "He said your word doesn't really mean much around town."

Annya rolled her eyes.

Sephiroth snorted derisively. "Perfect. Proof. You hear that, Annya. At the Christmas Dance tonight all you have to do is egg Lucian on till he beats you in front of the whole town."

She cringed.

He looked at her apologetically. "Sorry. That was insensitive." Next, he addressed them as a whole, "I think we should just threaten him. Tell him to call off the engagement or we will kill him."

Zack looked horrified. "We're not the bad guys here, Seph. We can't just kill people like that."

"We do not actually have to kill him just threaten to. Not many people would take the two of us on."

"Oh. Well that's all right then," Zack said. "Sound good to you, Ay?"

"Honestly, I just think that would make him harder to get rid of. He's very much the spoiled rich kid. Telling him he can't have something— "

"Will just make him want it more," Zack finished for her.

She sighed. "Exactly."

"Look, I am just going to call the Turks and have him assassinated. Then no one is the 'bad guys' because we would not be the ones killing him and the Turks would just be doing their job," Sephiroth said, running a hand through his hair.

Before Zack could protest, Cloud decided to speak up. "Why don't you just get Lucian to want to break off the engagement himself?" He jumped off the railing and walked over to crouch next to Annya, putting her between him and the man who had just discovered that his hair was trying to imitate the forest floor.

They all stared at the blond.

"How?" Zack asked finally.

Cloud considered it. "You told me he wanted to marry Annya because she was a challenge, right?"

Zack nodded.

"Then take the challenge away." He looked down at Annya. "You need to act obedient and loving. Then he'll get bored of you and dump you."

Sephiroth smiled. "I think will forgive you for the twigs this time, Cadet Strife."

**xXxXxXx**

Sephiroth glared at the brown-haired man in front of him. With everyone else preoccupied elsewhere, he had been left alone with Lucian.

Mrs. Ate and her son had arrived a few minutes ago and she had since joined Mrs. Fair in her crusade to try and accost Annya into dressing up.

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards at the memory of Mrs. Fair chasing her daughter around the house for a solid hour, holding an especially frilly, white dress, pleading and shrieking for her to wear it.

Meanwhile, Mr. Fair had shut himself up in his study doing Ramuh knows what, and Zack and Cloud had run off somewhere. The First Class had made sure to pull him aside before he left and give him leave to stab the man if he tried anything.

The two men had been glaring at each other for the past two minutes, neither willing to be the first to blink.

"So, you're staying here for the next two weeks?" Lucian asked with false politeness.

"Yes, I am," the General replied coldly. There was no way he was going to waste effort by putting on appearances for this miserable excuse for a human being.

Lucian looked smug at the coldness in the General's tone, as if he knew he was the one who caused it. "One must wonder how a house this small can accommodate not only one but two houseguests for a full two weeks. Shame really, the Great General having to sleep on a couch."

"Actually, I am staying in Annya's room." He smirked as the smugness and color flooded from Lucian's face.

"You lie," the brunette hissed.

"Are you all right? You are looking a bit pale, Lucian." He knew he was being childish but the glare he received signaled a victory far too sweet to pass up.

Lucian pursed his lips. "Very well. I'll get to the bottom of this." He ran to the base of the stairs. "Mother!"

Mrs. Ate was at her son's side so quickly, Sephiroth was sure she must have teleported there.

"What's the matter, Sweetie?" Her voice was sickeningly concerned.

"I just heard some very interesting news. Apparently, he," he pointed at Sephiroth, "is staying in my fiancée's room during his stay here."

"Don't be silly, Lucian. Victoria would never allow such a thing," Mrs. Ate said.

Mrs. Fair had appeared to see what the commotion was.

"Is this man really staying in Annya's room?" Mrs. Ate asked.

Mrs. Fair looked very offended. "Not at the same time as her, of course not. Annya is staying on the couch."

Mrs. Ate breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hi failed to mention that part." Lucian glowered at Sephiroth, who still looked fairly smug. "Perhaps it would be best if Annya stay with us for the holidays. That will free up some space for you, Mrs. Fair."

It was Sephiroth's turn to pale.

Mrs. Fair's eyes lit up. That was the answer to all her problems. Lucian could knock some sense into the girl and it would get her away from the General "That would be perfect! You two have hardly gotten any quality alone time. Annya will be so happy."

Mrs. Ate was aflutter. "Oh, Lucian, you're such a smart boy. What a splendid idea. I'll go call the housekeeper to tell her to prepare a room. May I use you phone, Victoria?"

"Go right ahead, Shannon," Mrs. Fair said.

Mrs. Ate headed for the kitchen and Mrs. Fair headed back upstairs to resume Annya's dressing leaving Lucian and Sephiroth alone once again.

"Looks like I win this round." Lucian smirked as he headed after his mother.

Sephiroth cursed himself. He had messed up badly. He had to get someone who could stop this. That meant Mr. Fair since he didn't know where Zack was. He rushed to the study and knocked. Annya and Zack had both warned him that Mr. Fair was never to be interrupted while in his study. It just wasn't done. But this was important.

The door opened. Mr. Fair looked at him sternly. "Yes, General?"

Sephiroth put on his most polite tone. "I am sorry to bother you, sir. This is important."

"Come in then. It's rude to talk in doorways."

Sephiroth stepped in and took a seat when he was told to.

"Now what's the problem?" Mr. Fair asked.

"Lucian has invited Annya to stay at his home for the next two weeks."

There was a commotion from outside the study. People were thundering down stairs and women were screaming incoherently.

"I think my daughter has also just heard the news."

"I do not think it is a good idea. It will not be safe for her there."

Mr. Fair laughed at this. "Of course you don't think it's a good idea. Lucian is your competition."

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed dangerously as his fingers flexed. "This is about Annya's safety, not some stupid dick measuring contest."

Mr. Fair peered at him. "I've tried to be as reasonable as possible with you, General. I did not kick you out when you showed up holding hands with my spoken-for daughter. Nor when you kissed her under my roof. I promised I would watch Lucian for evidence of misconduct. Yet you still feel it is appropriate to come into my study and intimidate me."

Sephiroth said nothing.

Mr. Fair continued. "Now that there has been an invitation the only option is to accept it. Anyone can see that staying with her intended is the preferable option to staying in a house with two strange men. My hands are tied. I have to look after what's best for this entire family, not just Annya. Do you understand?"

He didn't understand but nodded anyway. There was no changing this man's mind unless he was willing to carry though on his threat.

"Good. You may go."

Sephiroth stood and left without another word, feeling helpless.

He spotted Annya instantly, sitting on the couch with her hands clenched in the skirt of her dress, positively bawling. Mrs. Ate was sitting next to her. Lucian was lounging on an adjacent chair, looking bored.

"It'll be all right, Dearie." Mrs. Ate said, patting her gently on the back.

He felt so guilty. He figured she would be upset but she was taking it much harder than he'd anticipated. He'd gotten her into this mess and then failed to get her out.

"Where's Mrs. Fair?" he asked quietly.

Mrs. Ate looked up at him, just realizing he was there. "She's on her way to the hospital, dear. Zack's been shot."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Sephiroth once found himself and his unit stranded in Wutai. Communications jammed, surrounded by enemy gunners, and outnumbered three to one, there was no way to call for reinforcements. He had made one stupid mistake and it looked like his men would pay for it.

He had told them he would try to break through the enemy line and enlist reinforcements. A Third Class volunteered to go instead. He had told him that, being the general, he was too important to risk losing. Sephiroth had immediately shot the idea down but the Third Class took off running anyway. Gunfire had responded instantly and he knew the Third Class had been struck down. Yet, while waiting to make sure their exact position hadn't been compromised, reinforcements arrived.

As soon as the battle was won, Sephiroth had gone looking for the Third Class in the medical tent. The man had been hit fourteen times and somehow was still alive.

"SOLDIER, that was the stupidest thing I have ever seen. I should have you court-martialed."

The Third Class had just smiled.

"But it does seem I owe you one."

"How about you just buy me a pizza and we'll call it even."

And so Sephiroth was not worried as he sat in the waiting room of a hospital in Gongaga. One bullet would be nothing for Zachary Fair to handle. He observed the other occupants of the waiting room. Mrs. Fair was sobbing uncontrollably, Mr. Fair sitting next her, comforting her. Annya had long since stopped crying but her eyes were still red and puffy. She had taken the seat on the other side of her mother. That seemed to be the most she could bring herself to do to comfort the distressed woman.

Cloud was slouched in a seat across from him, covered in blood and staring absently at his mp3 player. Not listening, just staring. He recognized that expression. He was sure his own face had looked almost identical the last time he had been sitting in a waiting room. His eyes flickered to Annya before addressing the blond quietly. "Chin up, Cadet Strife. We have to keep face in front of the civilians. This is all part of the job."

Cloud looked at him, eyes hazy. The cadet slowly tucked the mp3 player back into his pocket and sat up a bit straighter.

A nurse joined them in the waiting room. "He's going to be fine," the nurse said. There was a collective sigh of relief. "Visitors will be allowed back now but there isn't that much room. I'll have to ask for only family at the moment."

The three Fairs stood.

"Annya," he said.

She stopped to look back at him questioningly.

"Would you mind giving Cloud your spot?" He felt sorry for the cadet.

She looked at the blond who looked at her hopefully. She nodded. "Sure."

"Thank you," Cloud said quickly and got up to follow the nurse.

Annya walked over and took the seat next to him instead.

**xXxXxXx**

The first thing Zack noticed as his visitors entered was blond spikes. He'd thought that the nurse had said only family would be allowed at first. Not that he was complaining.

"Oh my little, Zacky!" his mother cried as she flung herself at him.

"Whoa, Mom. I've just been shot." He laughed.

"Easy, Victoria. You'll aggravate his injury." Mr. Fair scolded. She peeled herself off her son and sniffled.

"How are you feeling?" Cloud asked. Gorgeous, blue eyes were looking at him intensely as if trying to discern the answer for himself.

Zack chuckled and gave Cloud his most charming smile. "Never better. All this mako's good for something." The blond seemed relieved. Good, it wouldn't do to worry Cloud. "And it was a lousy shot anyway. Completely missed anything important."

"I should have done more. I could have run after the guy who did it," Cloud said.

He laughed. "You're the one who carried me here. If you had run off I would have had to drag myself to the hospital." He was impressed because he had no idea how the tiny blond had managed that feat. The shot had happened just outside the forest, quite a ways from the hospital and Cloud and carried him the entire was by himself.

Mr. Fair clapped Cloud on the shoulder. "If you had run after the shooter you might have gotten hurt too. You did enough."

"If it wasn't for you, dear, Zacky might have— " She interrupted herself with her next bout of sobbing. She launched herself at Cloud, hugging the blond tightly, relentlessly thanking him all the while.

**xXxXxXx**

Sephiroth looked at the girl sitting beside him. "I am sorry. I know you wanted to see him."

Annya shook her head. "It's okay."

Hoping to get a tiny smile he said, "Zack will be okay. He has been through much worse before. Knowing him, he will be fit for the Christmas Dance tonight."

She nodded, no hint of a smile.

He sighed and looked forward. He wanted to do more to comfort her but there was only so much he could do with the receptionist right there unless he wanted to feed the gossip line.

They sat in silence till Mrs. Fair came rushing past them. She said something at them but the only word he could make out through her sobbing was 'cafeteria'.

"Daddy, must have sent her to get tea," Annya said.

Sephiroth nodded. Tea seemed to be the go to beverage to calm Mrs. Fair down. "You can go back and see Zack now."

"This is going to sound weird but I'm going after Mum to make sure she's okay. You go see Zack," Annya said.

Sephiroth nodded. For once, she must be able to understand exactly how her mother was feeling. Once Annya was around the corner, he asked the receptionist what room Zack was in.

Zack was sitting up in his bed, looking very happy for having just been shot. The First Class groaned when he saw him enter the room. "I didn't want you to see me like this, Seph."

Despite insisting to himself he wasn't worried, he was relieved. If Zack was joking that meant he'd be just fine. "I take it that means it was a shot you could have dodged if you had been paying attention?"

Zack gave him a lopsided grin. "It was such an easy shot to dodge. You should probably demote me back to Second Class."

Sephiroth chuckled.

"I notice Ay still hasn't come to see me. How's she doing?"

"She will be fine once she actually gets to see you. She is just making sure your mother is okay first."

Zack looked stunned. "Really?"

Mr. Fair sighed. "I better go to the cafeteria then."

As he heard Mr. Fair start descending the stairs, Sephiroth turned to the blond. The next order of business was to find out who had dared attack Zack. "You were there when it happened, right, Cloud?"

The blond squeaked at being addressed by his first name. "Yes, sir. But I didn't actually see anything."

Zack laughed. "Yeah, neither did I."

**xXxXxXx**

Annya approached the elevator and pressed the down button and tapped her foot impatiently as she waited. She wasn't sure why she still cared how her mother was doing but the sooner she could make sure her mother was okay, the sooner she could she Zack.

As the elevator pinged, signaling its arrival, she moved to enter. However, when the doors opened she was met with something she was completely unprepared for.

"Hello, Annya," Lucian greeted as he stepped off the elevator.

She just gaped at him and completely missed the elevator. The poor, neglected transport closed its doors and continued down to find a passenger that wouldn't ignore it.

"What are you doing here?"

Lucian gave her his most saccharine smile. "Why, I'm here to check on Zack of course. I was worried."

She glowered at him. "You don't sound so worried."

He grabbed her chin and forced her head back roughly. "I am worried. Worried he'll make a full recovery."

Her eyes widened. "Fuck you, Lucian."

He backhanded her so hard she hit the floor.

"Would you like to hear something interesting? I'll tell you since no one will believe you anyway. I had Zack shot. I know you've told him about out little training sessions by now and Zack's first instinct would be to take you back to Midgar. But I wish for you to stay here."

"So you tried to kill him?" she asked venomously. Of course it had been Lucian. How had she not seen this coming?

"Nothing so sinister, darling. I just wanted him injured enough that he'd have to leave SOLDIER. If he had no reason to go back to Midgar, I knew you'd stay here with him."

"_You're_ enough of a reason to go back to Midgar!"

"Then I'll just have to try killing him next time. Maybe that'll finally break you."

Lucian didn't even have time to smirk before he was aflame. He flailed as orange-yellow flames danced over his upper left half.

Annya just watched him burn in a trance that wasn't broken till the fire alarm triggered and the sprinklers started. She picked herself up and started to run back to Zack's hospital room but stopped herself. Now would be a good time to start Cloud's plan. She returned to Lucian and kneeled by his side. The sprinklers had already put him out but he was already burned badly on his neck and shoulder. She smiled sardonically as her hand unconsciously bushed her own neck where her burn scar from the explosion was. Now they'd match.

The several pairs of feet sounded in the hallway. The hospitals response team had finally showed up. As they were readying Lucian for transport to the ER, she made sure to let whoever would listen know, in her best panicked voice, that he was her beloved fiancé, how she wouldn't know what to do if something were to happen to him, she had no idea what happened, how scared she was, and that it should have been her. The sprinklers played their role perfectly, disguising her lack of tears.

One of the nurses asked where she could be found and assured her that someone would be sent to let her know when she could visit Lucian. Annya thanked him and started slowly walking back to her brother's room.

As soon as she was around the corner and out of sight, she broke into a run. Her appearance in Zack's hospital room was met by several cries of surprise.

She forgot about Lucian as she spotted Zack sitting up and looking fairly healthy. "Zack! You're okay."

Zack smiled but wouldn't look directly at her. "Hey. I'm Zack Fair, First Class SOLDIER and all around amazing guy, remember?"

She gave a shaky laugh.

"So, why are you wet?" Zack asked, staring fixedly at the wall.

"I'll get to that. Let me start from the beginning."

She was cut off by Cloud thrusting his coat towards her, looking at anything but her.

She looked at him, confused.

"Just take it, Annya," Sephiroth said, sounding desperate.

She accepted the coat but was still confused.

"Your dress," was all Zack said.

She looked down. Her white dress was soaked completely through. She blushed and quickly put the coat on. Sufficiently covered, she rattled off everything that had just happened.

When she finished the room was silent.

Zack sighed. "Makes sense. Not many people here would be able to afford a gun in the first place."

"He deserved it," Cloud said simply. "I wish you could have finished him off."

"Better for her that she didn't. Killing people leaves scars that don't ever heal," Zack said quietly. "Are you okay, Ay? Your cheek is starting to bruise."

She shrugged. "I'm fine. As long as no one believes him if he tells them I did it. I don't think I want to keep my materia anymore though." She held it out to him.

"Your charade was quick thinking on your part," Zack said uncomfortably. It might have been quick thinking but it was devious. He never would have guessed it of his baby sister. He accepted her materia and she smiled sadly at him.

Sephiroth remained silently staring at his boots.

"Are you all right, Seph?" Zack asked, worried.

Sephiroth did not answer. He did not know how to answer. The only thing he wanted to do was find Lucian. He was livid. Lucian had attacked his best friend. He looked up to find the bruise that was forming on Annya's cheek. And to top it off, after he had sworn to himself he would never let it happen again, she had been hit again right under his nose.

This time it was Annya who asked. "Seph, are you okay?"

The siblings looked to each other, concerned when he didn't answer.

Annya looked away first and walked up to the silver-haired man so that there was only about an inch separating them. "Sephiroth. I know you can hear me."

He looked at her, ever silent. He raised his hand to touch her cheek, lightly brushing the bruise.

She smiled. "I'm okay. I can take a hit. Besides, I set him on fire. I won that one. Please, say something. You are freaking us out."

He looked at Zack who looked back expectantly. He returned his eyes to hers. "I am fine. I just do not want to talk right now." He moved away from her and sat in one of the chairs lining the wall.

The Fairs figured that was the best they were going to get.

**xXxXxXx**

Cloud sat alone next to Zack's bed. Zack's parents were still in the cafeteria and a nurse had come, asking for Annya to let her know Lucian was cleared for visitation.

Annya had told them that she was going to go sit by Lucian's bed like a good fiancée as per his plan. Sephiroth had told her he was going as well.

It had surprised him when she agreed to let the General go with her. He had been surprised again when Zack didn't object either. He had been sure the siblings had been afraid that Sephiroth might murder Lucian on sight.

"You okay, Cloud?" Zack asked.

"Yes. Why didn't you stop the General from going with her?" It wasn't that he cared what happened to Lucian. He was just curious about Zack's seemingly conflicting behavior.

"Seph's a good guy. I trust him. He wouldn't attack anybody while they're already down."

Cloud nodded but couldn't help but feel Zack's trust was slightly misplaced. He was sure that the General was perfectly willing to teach Lucian a lesson in why you don't mess with SOLDIER and, to be honest, he was rooting for Sephiroth.

"You excited for Christmas, Cloud?" Zack beamed at him.

The First Class was trying to change the subject because the conversation was getting too heavy. He decided to go along with it and nodded. "I take it you are too?"

"Of course, what's not to love? Presents, cookies, caroling."

Zack continued to rhapsodize about the virtues of Christmas as he listened patiently, eyes following the animated motions of the man's arms. His eyes traced up the contour of Zack's arms, wondering how they would feel around him. He fidgeted in his seat. The First Class's arms were lean but well defined, sculpted by the years in SOLDIER.

He thought back to what the General had said in the waiting room. As long as Zack was in SOLDIER he would always be in danger of being shot, or stabbed, or worse. And eventually he would face the same dangers himself. It was impossible to know how much time might be left for them. He shouldn't waste time fantasizing.

"I need to tell you something." His voice was more timid than he wanted.

"Go ahead. I'm not stopping you."

Zack's smile did the opposite of reassure him. What if what he had to say ruined things? What if that smile was never directed at him again? He looked away from the First Class, no longer able to make eye contact, and his gaze fell on the bloodstain on his pants. He had to let him know now.

With new resolve, he looked back at the raven-haired man and took a breath. "I really like you, Zack."

Zack didn't respond right away. Cloud thought his heart would beat right out of his chest, waiting for an answer. He was starting to feel ill.

The First Class's face split into a huge grin. "Cloud, if I could be sure the wrong person wouldn't walk in that door, I would kiss you right now."

**xXxXxXx**

As they neared Lucian's room, Annya sighed.

"Here I go. Wish me luck," she said, before desperately bursting through the door.

Sephiroth calmly walked in after her. His anger had largely abated. He was by no means not angry, he had just cooled down enough to not strangle Lucian the second he entered the room. He glared at the heavily bandaged man who was lying unconscious in the hospital bed. He eye lingered on the bandaged neck. Though it would be easy. So, so easy.

He glanced at Annya who was hugging a sobbing Mrs. Ate at Lucian's bedside. He shouldn't kill anybody in front of her unless it was absolutely necessary. Besides, Zack would have a fit if he killed a wounded man. He sighed, pining for the time long gone when he didn't care about anyone enough to give a damn what they thought of him. He leaned against the wall to watch Annya's performance. Cloud's plan had better work.

"It's such a shame. He was so beautiful," Mrs. Ate sobbed.

Annya smiled softly at her. "As long as he's alive everything will be fine, Mrs. Ate."

Mrs. Ate sobbed even harder. "You're right. You know, everyone said you wouldn't be but I knew it. I knew you'd be a good match for my Lucian."

Annya patted her on the back. "I try my best, Mrs. Ate. I only give him what he deserves."

"You said your mother was in the cafeteria, dearie?" Mrs. Ate asked.

"Yes, ma'am."

"I think I'll go join her. I know Lucian is in good hands as long as you are here."

"Of course, Mrs. Ate."

When Mrs. Ate was gone, Annya stood up and walked over to him.

"I don't know why she likes me. I've never said a kind thing about Lucian until today and it's not like I was only mean behind their backs either. I feel kinda bad lying to her." She scrunched her nose.

Damn her. He was trying really hard to be angry over here and it was hard to do when she was being cute.

She grabbed his hand and smiled up at him. "So, ready to talk yet, Seph?"

"Yes," he said quietly, smiling softly.

He leaned down to kiss her but a small moan behind them caused Annya to pull away. He frowned. She was in the seat right next to the head of the bed by the time Lucian's eyes were open. The brunette looked around warily and his eyes stopped dead on her.

"You," Lucian hissed.

"How are you feeling, Lucian?" she asked worriedly.

The injured man's eyes narrowed. "What did you do?"

She looked hurt. "I didn't do anything. How could I? I don't even know what happened."

Lucian eyed her suspiciously. "You expect me to believe you're actually worried about me?"

"I know I fight you a lot but I never wanted you to actually get hurt." Tears welled in her eyes as she took his hand in her own. "I got so scared when it happened."

Sephiroth frowned as he looked at their hands. Had Cloud's plan always seemed so stupid?

Lucian snorted. "I'll never understand the bleeding hearts of women. A little injury is really all it took to send you running into my arms?" He finally noticed there was a whole other person in the room. "What is he doing here?"

"Just observing things. A lot of people have been getting attacked today. It's suspicious," she explained easily.

"Get me a glass of water," the injured man ordered.

Two pairs of eyes followed as Annya quickly went to the water jug then returned to the bedside with a glass of water. She helped Lucian sit up and held the glass as he drank, expertly timing when he'd take breaths so she could stop tilting.

Sephiroth wasn't sure how much more of this he could watch.

"Stand." The next order. She did.

"Turn around five times." She did this as well.

Sephiroth almost smiled because her expression clearly betrayed her annoyance whenever he saw her face. He imagined she had to be rapidly switching between two expressions as she turned so that Lucian wouldn't see.

Lucian looked pleased. "Interesting. But I still don't believe you. Kiss me."

Sephiroth stepped forward. Cloud's plan was the worst plan he had ever had the misfortune of hearing. He had been cowing to a lot of people lately but enough was enough. "Stop this. It is getting ridiculous." Two pairs of eyes were now on him.

Lucian sneered. "Excuse me, General. I think you should leave. I'm trying to get intimate with my fiancée."

"She is no longer your fiancée."

Annya and Lucian both tried to speak at the same time.

"Sephiroth, what are you— "

"You have no right to tell— "

"You are going to call off the engagement, Lucian. I do not know who you think you are but I know full well who I am. I have almost the entirety of Shinra behind me if need be. You are smart enough to know what Shinra is capable of, I assume. I know you are the one that had Zack shot. Shinra would not want word to get out that one of their elite SOLDIERs was shot by some country bumpkin. They would wipe you and your entire family out of existence if it would save them a slight embarrassment. However, I will make you a deal."

Sephiroth stopped to make sure Lucian was paying attention. The wide-eyed, non-blinking stare indicated that he was indeed listening.

"If you break off the engagement, keep your mouth shut about this whole thing, and never cause the Fair family any problems again, Shinra will not have to find out." He looked to Annya. "Does this sound good to you?"

She nodded, eyes as wide as Lucian's.

"You don't want to mention anything about me hitting her?" Lucian sneered.

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed. "That falls in the category of 'never causing the Fair family any problems again'. However, to make sure we are clear on something, I will be watching you. If you ever lay your hands on anyone again, I will kill you. If you ever harm Zack ever again, I will kill you."

Sephiroth paused and walked menacingly closer to the bed, heavy footfall from his boots adding nicely to the effect. "I want you to listen very closely for this one. And before you decided I am bluffing, I want you to watch my eyes while I say this and then decide whether I meant it or not." He bent over to stare Lucian right in the eyes. "If you ever, even so much as think about hurting Annya again, you will _wish_ that I would kill you."

They didn't break eye contact for what seemed like an eternity. Lucian looked away first, turning his gaze to Annya.

"Congratulations. You're a single woman," Lucian spat venomously. He turned his head away to stare at the opposite wall not wanting to look at either of them anymore.

Sephiroth straightened and held out his hand to Annya. "Come on, Ay."

She stared wide-eyed for a long time before accepting his hand. "It's over? Just like that?"

He smiled and pulled her into his arms. "Just like that."

* * *

**Author's Note: **It looks like most of the chapters are going to be longer now. Also, I might have to increase the rating to M. There should really be anything too bad, I just want to cover myself. I hope none of this will be a problem for anyone. As always, thanks for reading!


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Mrs. Fair was on her way to the kitchen. Yesterday had done more to dispirit her than all her thirty-nine years. Who would ever want to hurt her little Zacky? And then dear Lucian had had an accident as well. To top it off, when she had gone to visit him, he had ended his engagement with their daughter. That engagement had been her only good fortune in years and now it was gone as well. After yesterday, she felt like her life had changed forever but ultimately it hadn't. It was Christmas Eve and she had cooking to do.

A small sliver of light from the bathroom cut across the hallway. She was not the only one up. She knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in."

She opened the door. Her daughter was at the sink applying concealer. When she had returned to Zack's hospital room last night, the girl's face had been almost half bruise. She didn't bother asking how it had happened. The stupid girl's allowance had always been devoted solely to buying concealer to hide the marks she kept collecting from hurting herself.

"Morning, Mum. Do you need help cooking?"

How dare the girl sound so pleased with herself. She had just embarrassed this family once again by being rejected by the son of a prominent family. Her brother had just been shot. There was nothing to smile about.

"You don't look so good, Mum. You need to relax. Zack's home already. The wound will be gone in no time thanks to the mako."

She just watched her daughter in silence.

"Are you still mad Lucian dumped me? Mrs. Ate told you last night there was no need for you to 'stop being friends because of a silly thing like that'. And I think there's a good chance I won't be embarrassing you by ending up a spinster. Everything worked out."

Her husband had pulled the General aside and given the man permission to pursue their daughter the second he had heard Lucian was no longer an option. She didn't know what they'd done but it was obvious the machinations of her daughter and the General had been what scared poor Lucian away.

She could see the girl smile at her in the mirror. Of course her daughter would be happy. Once again, the spoiled girl would be getting everything she wanted at the expense of this family.

"I wish it had been you," she heard herself saying.

The girl's face fell. She turned around to face her. "You don't mean that, Mum. If I had been shot I don't think I would have been able to just walk away after a couple hours."

She didn't reply. She wanted nothing more to do with the girl. She turned and left her standing there, looking shocked and hurt. There was cooking to do.

**xXxXxXx**

Sephiroth found himself walking through the forest far too early in the morning. He had woken up to find a note on his pillow, instructing him, in Zack's handwriting, to head for the old bridge as soon as he was awake to discuss urgent business. He had hoped the urgent business would be over with after yesterday.

As he approached the bridge he heard the sound of jingle bells long before he saw Annya and Cloud sitting on a blanket spread out over the snow complete with a picnic basket. When he got closer he found the source of the bells. It was Annya's hairband and bracelet, which Cloud kept glancing at with a fury that would make a Gremlin proud.

He was not surprised to see no sign of the First Class, even though Zack had been the one to write the note. He was used to Zack doing weird things for his own bizarre reasons. What did surprise him was that Cloud was here. Zack and Cloud had been left alone for a time in the hospital yesterday and, from what he could tell, it had gone well. He figured Cloud would be wherever Zack was.

"Where is Zack?" he asked, annoyed as he joined them on the blanket.

The least the First Class could do if he was going to lure people out of the house with cryptic notes was show up. He regret asking when he saw the look that crossed Annya's face at the mention of her brother.

"He was supposed to come but he bailed on us last minute," Annya said sadly. "He's still avoiding me."

Ever since they had gotten back from Lucian's hospital room, Zack had seemed distant with her. Zack was still speaking to her but only when spoken to first. He didn't think Zack was doing it on purpose— that would be a more malicious act than his friend was capable of— but the man was clearly preoccupied with something.

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Not everything's about you. I told you he said he was in pain. He was shot yesterday, you know. You could try to be a little sympathetic."

She glared at Cloud. "I would think I'd know if my brother was avoiding me."

He resisted shooting the cadet his own glare. Zack was being distant with her but only relatively so. It wouldn't be as readily obvious to the blond that there was something off between the siblings when Cloud had spent most of his time since coming to Midgar with only one of the Fairs.

"Isn't it a bit cold for a picnic?" he asked, changing the subject before things could escalate. They already had enough problems without Cloud and Annya getting into an argument.

Her expression softened only slightly as she looked at him. "I was just trying to get away from Mum. She's not exactly happy with me."

"I am under the distinct impression that she is never happy with you," he said.

She laughed bitterly.

"Well, you only have to deal with it one more day. Zack booked the first available flight for us to go back home. We leave the day after tomorrow," Cloud said. "He said it's probably best to quit while we're ahead."

That answered why Cloud wasn't with Zack. Zack needed Cloud to be the messenger.

"Zack is right. If we do not leave now we may not be able to later," he said.

They'd only been here a few days and they'd already had one of theirs shot, set a man on fire, broken up an engagement, and caused Ifrit knows how many possible scandals. Leaving Gongaga promptly was probably a good idea.

Annya was considerably cheered up by the news. "Now to move on to why we're actually here." She reached into the picnic basket. "I had a right time trying to bake this with Mum in the kitchen."

She pulled out a cake with candles, which she lit with a lighter she had produced from her jacket pocket. She held the cake out to him.

"Happy Birthday, Seph!" she said happily.

"Make a wish, Sir," Cloud said.

He had completely forgotten. He never made a big deal out of his birthday but it was nice to have it acknowledged. He smiled and blew out the candles. The only thing he had to wish for was that his best friend was here.

They packed up and walked back to the house once the entire cake was gone. He had remorselessly eaten the entire thing after Annya and Cloud had had their pieces. It was his birthday after all.

As soon as they stepped into the entrance hall, Cloud handed Annya the picnic basket and went straight for the stairs. Annya watched the blond go, looking quite melancholic now that they were back in the house. He frowned. For all intents and purposes, today should be one of the happiest days of her life now that Lucian was a moot point. He didn't think that her mother being her usual self was enough to put a damper on that so it had to be Zack.

"What are you doing now?" he asked her.

She looked up at him, looking a bit startled at being addressed. "I can hear the vacuum upstairs so that means the kitchen's free. I need to bake a ton of cookies."

"Then I am going upstairs." He kissed her. "Cheer up. I will find out what is going on with Zack."

"Thank you, Seph." She smiled. "I'll be up to see you when I'm done."

He watched her enter the kitchen before heading up the stairs. This was so frustrating. Zack and Cloud were finally moving forward and Annya was finally free of Lucian. Everyone should be happy but here it was, Christmas Eve, and neither Zack nor Annya were themselves. Well, call him Santa Claus because he was going to make sure they were both feeling the Christmas spirit if it was the last thing he ever did.

He opened the door to Zack's bedroom without knocking and was greeted by Cloud's surprised yelp.

Zack laughed from his spot on the bed. "See, Cloud. That's why. No one knocks."

"You should have locked the door." He felt momentarily guilty for interrupting their conversation and thought about leaving before deciding he was already here. He couldn't very well uninterrupt.

He looked directly at Cloud who jumped a little. "I need to speak to Zack alone."

"Yes, Sir." Cloud got off the cot and started for the door.

"Cloud, we're on vacation. You don't have to listen to him," Zack said.

Cloud paused and looked from Zack to him. He cast the cadet a withering look and the blond practically double marched out of the room. He smirked. Cloud was all right.

"That wasn't very nice, Seph." Zack grinned at him. "Anyway, Happy Birthday! Sorry I missed ya this morning."

"Think nothing of it. How is your back?" he asked.

"Better. My pain meds finally started kicking in."

He was glad he had not snapped at Cloud earlier. The cadet had been telling the truth. But there was still truth to Annya's claim that Zack was avoiding her as well.

"Zack, what is bothering you?"

Zack's grin fell slightly. "What are you talking about? I'm fine."

"If you were fine, you would be talking to your sister."

"I am talking to her." Zack sighed. "Look, don't worry about it, Seph. It's not a big deal."

"I cannot not worry about it. And I am not the only one. Annya is worried about it and it is making her quite upset."

Zack groaned. "She noticed?"

"Of course she noticed." He sat on the bed. "Why not talk it through with me? That is what you always tell me to do, right?"

He wouldn't show it but he was nervous. Zack usually did the listening and counseling. But if they were friends it was only fair that he did it when Zack needed it.

"Fine." Zack looked at him seriously. "I'm bothered that she set Lucian on fire."

He was already thrown off. He had thought they'd all been in agreement that that had been a good thing.

"She was protecting herself. You gave her the materia for that purpose in the first place," he said calmly.

"But starting a fire in the middle of a populated building? What if the whole place had burned down? How many people would have died, Seph? She didn't need to protect herself. We were right around the corner and down the hall. Either of us would have heard her scream."

Before he had met Zack, he had only ever been concerned with resolving a situation as quickly and efficiently as possible. If that meant violently, then so be it. His friend had since come to make him realize that human lives were actually worth something. That was why he would now often let his friend mediate before he stepped in. Zack believed in violence as a last resort and as such had always had a knack for deciding the most peaceful option in the spur of the moment. But not everyone was like Zack.

"It may be obvious in hindsight that there were other things she might have done but she was in a vulnerable position with a man who both abused her for three years and attempted to murder you. I would say her response was appropriate. We should just be happy your sister got out of there in one piece."

Zack winced. "Of course I'm happy she's okay. Look, I can get over the fact that she attacked Lucian. It's the lying to cover her tracks that really bothers me. It just doesn't sit right with me."

He was starting to get annoyed. He had barely known a thing about Gongaga except its name and location before a couple weeks previous and he could tell that a woman attacking a man would not be something the people here would just ignore. Zack had grown up here so why wasn't he getting this?

"No one would believe she did it in self-defense. Your own mother did not believe her when she told her Lucian was beating her, why would anyone else? What do you suggest she should have done?" He kept his voice calm and even.

Zack scratched the back of his head. "I just don't know, Seph."

"I don't think you're giving your sister enough credit. She didn't come into your hospital room congratulating herself on a job well done. She just made sure we knew the truth and gave up her materia. Obviously, she had some reservations about what she did."

Zack's eyes widened. The First Class pulled Annya's materia out of his pocket and looked at it for a moment before looking back at him. "Do you remember the first person you ever intentionally injured, Seph?"

"Yes," he said quietly. It had been a lab tech when he was eight. Incidentally, that was also the first person he had ever killed.

"I remember mine too. I'd forgotten how awful I felt afterward."

Guilt burned in his chest. At the time, he hadn't felt awful afterward, not for anyone except himself because he had been sure he'd receive his harshest punishment yet.

"She probably feels the same way," Zack said quietly, rolling the pendant over his knuckles while looking at it thoughtfully.

The First Class suddenly looked at him and said, "I've been a horrible brother."

He smiled softly. "I would not go that far, Zack."

Zack leapt off the bed and tried to hide his wince with a grin. "You know where she is, Seph?"

He smirked. "In the kitchen making cookies. What about your back?"

"I'll suck it up. I'm going to go help. You wanna come with?"

He shook his head. If baking cookies together wasn't the Christmas spirit, he had no idea what was. His job was done. They had to work it out from here. "Santa Claus needs to take a nap."

**xXxXxXx**

Whatever Sephiroth had said to Zack this morning had worked wonders. Zack had come down to the kitchen and started helping her with the cookies as if nothing had ever been wrong. He had sent Cloud to finish his phone call with his mother on the living room phone so they could talk about what had happened yesterday. He had then reassured her that attacking Lucian didn't make her a bad person.

She felt guilty but only because she didn't feel as guilty as Zack seemed to think she should feel. Yesterday, right after she'd burned him, she'd felt bad but she'd gotten over it fairly quickly once she'd seen Zack in his hospital bed. Then today, every time Zack had winced when he took a movement too sharply, she'd found it even more difficult to feel too sorry for Lucian.

After that, he had proceeded to gently lecture her about what a better course of action might have been and that if she's ever in trouble again, if even the tiniest thing was bothering her, she should try to call him first. She had smiled and told him that nothing was troubling her anymore but promised she'd tell him if anything came up.

It was now evening and Mr. and Mrs. Fair had gone visiting. She, with Zack's help, had made a town's worth of cookies and suggested that her parents take them around to apologize for the family missing the Christmas Dance. Her father had thought it was a good idea. Her mother had said nothing but went with her father regardless. Zack had been excused because he had guests to entertain. Besides, he had been shot yesterday and no one would expect to see him. She had been excused because no one would want her in their house.

This is how Annya found herself carrying two mugs of hot cocoa and a tray of sugar cookies up to her room in high spirits. She was planning on spending a little alone time with a certain man on his birthday.

She was almost startled as she entered the room to find four pink walls. After Sephy's untimely demise, she'd decided it was a good time to finally take down every single picture of Sephiroth off the wall. Even though she hadn't added a picture to the wall since she was fourteen, she had still gotten used to it being there. She smiled as she spotted the real Sephiroth looking at her sleepily from her bed.

She walked over to him. "Sorry to wake you."

He yawned. "I do not mind. What is everyone doing?"

"My parents are gone for the night, Zack is locked in his room with Cloud, and I'm standing here."

She jingled as she handed him a mug. He sat up and thanked her.

"You are very festive," he said.

Aside from her jingle bells, she was wearing an overlarge red, green, and cream knit Christmas sweater patterned in poinsettias and reindeer. The hem fell to mid thigh, covering the shorts she was wearing. She noticed his gaze lingering on her bare legs and was glad she had ditched her long pants.

"Of course. It's a very festive day," she said.

She set down the cookies and grabbed her own mug, settling down on the bed in between Sephiroth and the wall. She bit her lip as she watched him drink his cocoa, forgetting her own.

"This is why the Fairs will always be the black sheep of the town. Look at the scandalous behavior being conducted under this roof. An unmarried man and woman drinking hot chocolate in the same bed. With cookies to boot. The shame," she said happily.

He chuckled. "And of course whatever is happening in Zack's room."

She giggled but it subsided quickly. There was one last thing bothering her and she certainly couldn't talk about it with Zack unless she wanted her brother to hate her. "Can I tell you something?"

He eyed her over the top of his mug. "What is wrong?"

She hesitated. She still wasn't sure if she should say it out loud. Maybe she should just suck it up and wait to get over it on her own.

"I will not tell anyone," he said.

"Nothing's wrong. It's only a tiny thing. It's just, part of me doesn't like Cloud." She felt bad as soon as she said it. Cloud actually done anything to deserve being disliked.

He smirked. "I think he only tolerates you because of Zack so it probably evens out."

She smiled in spite of herself. "It just irks me that Zack's going to start spending less time with me because of him."

Sephiroth deliberated for a moment before answering. "You want Zack to be happy right?"

Her brother deserved to be happy, possibly more than anyone. "Of course."

"Then you will just have to learn to share your brother. He is already sharing you, after all."

She looked down at her mug, even more ashamed of herself. She was being selfish. Zack had only ever been supportive of her and Sephiroth. Her brother always tried to make sure she was happy and here she couldn't even return the favor.

"I just don't want to lose him." Her throat felt tight at the thought.

"You already let him go once. At least he is not moving across the planet this time."

He was right. Watching Zack leave for Midgar was the hardest thing she'd ever done. Anything else had to be easier than that. She felt an almost immediate sense of relief.

"You're good at this, Seph. You should quit SOLDIER and become a therapist."

He snorted. "Maybe, I should. I have been getting a lot of practice today."

She smiled before grabbing a candycane cookie. "I guess I'll just have to find something else to fill my new found free time."

He looked at her flatly. "If only you knew someone who you could spend the extra time with."

She laughed. "Sorry, Seph. I didn't mean anything against you."

He smiled and set his unfinished cocoa on the nightstand before holding out his hand for hers. "Good. Now cheer up. It is Christmas Eve. Your brother is talking to you again and you no longer have to worry about Lucian."

She allowed him to take it as she beamed at him. She really had nothing to be worried about anymore and it was largely due to the man sitting before her. She owed him so much. She practically launched herself at him, hugging him tightly and sending the cookie tray clattering to the floor in the process.

Joy bubbled up in her chest and she couldn't help but laugh. "Thank you, Seph."

He laughed and put his hands on her waist, pushing her away a bit so he could look at her. "Can I tell you something, now?"

She nodded. "Go for it."

He was moving closer. She closed her eyes in anticipation and his mouth was on hers a moment later. She opened up to the kiss immediately, wrapping her arms around his neck. He moved suddenly and the bells gave a particularly loud jingle as she was pressed into the wall. His body covered hers completely now, silver hair draping around them. She whimpered. This kiss was different. It was straight out of one of her fantasies. Funny, she never imagined herself being this scared. Part of her was starting to panic as one of his hands left her waist to run up her leg.

There was a knock at the door and his hand froze just under the hem of her sweater. He broke the kiss but didn't move away from her like she wished he would.

"Did someone just knock?" he asked.

She couldn't answer any more than she could move but she didn't have to because another knock answered for her. Sephiroth scrambled out of the bed to answer the door.

"Hey, Seph! It's just us. The two people only a room away from you," Zack said, gesturing to the annoyed looking blond beside him. "I couldn't help but notice the extraordinary amount of noise coming from your room. Sounded like a reindeer was having a seizure. So I was just passing by and decided to find out what on Gaia you were doing?" Her brother's voice sounded strained which couldn't be a good thing.

"We weren't going to do anything, Zack," she said as she finally climbed off the bed and walked over to him. She was pretty sure this wasn't true.

Zack stared at her. "Word of advice, Annya."

"Yes?"

He grabbed the arm with the jingle bell bracelet and held it up so her hand hung limply. "If you're doing something you shouldn't be doing, don't wear an alarm system." He shook her arm for effect.

She blushed.

"Weren't you wearing pants earlier?" Cloud asked unhelpfully.

"I changed into shorts," she said, blushing deeper. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. "I was just bringing him some hot chocolate and cookies."

Zack twitched. "That's nice of you. I see they fell. Why don't you take Cloud downstairs and get him some hot cocoa. I need to help Sephiroth clean up these cookies."

She understood he wasn't leaving room for argument and left with Cloud.

Only when Annya and Cloud were at the bottom of the stairs did Zack step into the room and close the door.

Sephiroth studied the irate First Class before him. Zack looked like he was seriously considering attacking. He wasn't exactly sure what he had done to upset his friend so much. "I thought you were okay with us being together?"

Zack scoffed. "Not that together! I know I joke a lot but that's just it. I'm joking. I didn't think you'd actually go for it!"

He thought that was a silly thing for Zack to think. Zack had caught enough people leaving his apartment that he should know he had no problem "going for it". The only reason he hadn't with Annya yet was because they were preoccupied with their relationship. Things were complicated to say the least.

Zack gestured wildly as he spoke. "Do you even have a condom? I hope you weren't expecting her to have any protection. The only birth control they teach here is abstinence."

He hadn't given a single thought to protection. He would have eventually realized and stopped but he could still see why he was in trouble. "Sorry. I was not thinking. I will make sure I am better prepared for next time."

Zack pinched his temple and turned away. The other's man's muscles were tensed in a way that made him glad the Buster Sword was not in the room. Eventually, the First Class seemed to collect himself. Zack sighed and squatted, starting to pick up the broken cookies and tossing them on the tray.

"Apparently we need to have a talk," Zack said.

There were an awful lot of talks today. He sighed and helped pick up the cookies in silence, waiting for the other man to speak first.

"I'm okay with you two dating but Annya's not ready for sex yet," Zack said.

"I do not think you get to decide that."

"Neither do you." Zack looked at him seriously. "Have you ever even talked about it? Did you ask her if she was ready? Or are you just planning on deciding on your own."

He was offended. Did Zack really think he would sexually assault her? Or anyone for that matter? "I wasn't forcing her. She would have stopped me if she wasn't comfortable."

"Would she? She might not say anything if she's scared. What if she just freezes up? Did you know she never held hands with anybody before you? Never kissed anyone? You'd be her first _everything_, Seph. She has no idea what she's doing."

He hadn't really thought of it before but now that Zack said it, it was obvious. Between the town's belief in chastity and their ostracism of her, she never would have had the opportunity for any kind of physical relationship. Even so, he didn't see what the problem was. Everyone had to lose it sometime. He had lost his virginity when he was sixteen and he couldn't really even remember to whom, just that it was one of the Second Classes. He didn't remember it feeling like a big deal.

And Zack was being a hypocrite. If being a virgin was such a big deal, why had the First Class been locked away in his room with Cloud, who, between being painfully shy with people he didn't know and being only a few months past the age of consent, was most likely a virgin.

"And your young cadet knows what he is doing, does he?"

Zack made an exasperated noise. "Shiva, Seph, I don't know. We haven't even been together a day yet. I actually like Cloud. I'm not just trying to get him in bed as fast as possible. But Cloud's not the issue here, Annya is."

He rolled his eyes at the implication. People always made such a fuss about having sex too quickly. Once he'd gotten his own apartment and was relatively sure Hojo was no longer watching him, he'd shared his bed quite frequently. There had been very few people he'd taken time to get to know first. Yet, he had never deceived any of them or toyed with their emotions in order to get them in his bed. He treated them all with respect and everyone involved always had a good time, so why should that make him a bad person?

Nevertheless, things had actually been going slower with Annya. It had been a little over a month since he'd first asked her out. He hadn't tried to escalate things until she made the first move. Granted, that was mostly because she had been injured during the greater part of that month and then he had found out she was engaged to another man but the end result was the same.

"You are worried for nothing. She is the one who got your parents out of the house and came in here half-naked. It is fairly obvious what she intended my birthday present to be," he said.

"Bahamut, Seph!"

He closed his eyes as a cookie shattered across his face. He brushed errant crumbs out of his bangs as he shot an annoyed look at the First Class. "What was that for?"

Zack glared at him. "You can't talk about a guy's sister like that."

He wiped a bit of frosting off his cheek. He couldn't help but feel the real problem here was that Zack was the one who wasn't ready. "Like what? There is nothing wrong with implying your sister is interested in sex. Most people are."

Zack made a sound he had never heard before and threw his arms up in the air. "Whatever! All I want if for you to talk to her. There's nothing wrong with that is there?"

"Of course not." He felt it'd be pointless but it couldn't hurt.

"Promise me," Zack said as he jabbed him in the chest with his index finger.

Zack hadn't made First Class for nothing. That jab had actually hurt. "I promise."

**xXxXxXx**

Annya stared pensively at the pot of boiling cocoa. She hadn't been planning for anything specific to happen per se but she'd thought that once she was alone with Sephiroth she'd just let whatever happened happen. Yet, when something had started happening she'd choked.

She poured the cocoa and set the steaming mug in front of the blond. "Here you go, Cloud."

"Thank you," he said through a mouthful of cookie.

"You're welcome." She plopped into the seat across from him and grabbed a gingerbread man. "So, how's your evening goin'?"

"It was going about as well as yours till your damned bells ruined everything."

She bit off one of the gingerbread man's legs. She was confused about how well she considered her evening to be going. She had been starting to feel really scared there before Zack had interrupted. The real thing was nothing like what she'd imagined.

"So you two are official then?" she asked, not wanting to think about what had happened in her room anymore.

He smiled and nodded.

She sighed. Well, from here on out she would just have to force herself to like him again. That shouldn't be too hard. He was still the itty bitty cadet she'd befriended. She reached across the table and ruffled his hair.

"Dammit! Stop that." He swatted her hand.

She pulled her hand back and gave him a serious look. "Just be careful. This is a terrible place for anyone who doesn't fit their mold. People will freak out if anyone finds out. Freak out. And not the funny kind."

She had only seen evidence of gay people in Gongaga once in all her years here. Two teenage girls were caught holding hands in the park when she was six. She had never seen either of them again after that. She had been sure they had been killed and had nightmares for years despite her father trying to convince her that they moved away of their own accord.

The blond stopped smoothing out his hair and frowned. "Zack already warned me."

She smiled reassuringly. "One more day, Cloud. Then we'll be back in the land of nobody-cares-about-your-business."

The kitchen door swung open and Zack walked in with the tray of broken cookies, Sephiroth close behind with the half-full mugs. She averted her eyes from the silver-haired man. She felt bad for being scared. This was Sephiroth. She loved him and he would never hurt her. There was nothing to be scared of.

"Ready to go back upstairs, Zack?" Cloud asked hopefully.

"I think it's best if we all stay down here and watch some Christmas movies actually," Zack said, shooting him an apologetic look.

Her face lit up. Zack had saved her without realizing it. "Sounds good to me," she said, trying to ignore the furious glare being sent her way by a certain blond.

This way she could stay down here and not have to tell Sephiroth she didn't want to go back upstairs with him. She couldn't stand the idea of disappointing him after all he'd done for her. Especially since he hadn't even done anything wrong. He'd only done what she'd had in mind to begin with. It wasn't his fault that she was a coward.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Chapter 24 should be up in a few days.

Just some extra stuff about the legal limits for their hometowns.

**Midgar** _Age of Consen_t: 16 _Drinking Age_: 16 **Nibelheim** _Age of Consent_: 14 _Drinking Age_: 18 **Gongaga** _Age of Consent_: Legally none. Socially enforced to be whatever age you get married _Drinking Age_: Legally none. Socially enforced to be never for the ladies. It is considered unladylike to drink.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Presents had been opened and they'd just finished Christmas lunch. Annya was helping Mrs. Fair wash the dishes, looking so annoyed that Sephiroth wished nothing more to get up and help. Mr. Fair kept stopping any of his attempts, though, by insisting he have another glass of eggnog.

"Wanna go try out your gift, Seph?" Zack asked.

Zack, Cloud, and Annya had all chipped in for his gift: a console and a few select games. They had a mission. He was going to learn how to play video games and love it even if it killed them.

"We should wait for Annya," he replied.

"Go ahead," she said. "I'll be there in a moment."

Zack wasted no time dragging him to the living room to sit in front of the television, Cloud following right behind. He sat amused, watching them set up the console as they argued about which game they should start with. He didn't have high hopes for this becoming a lasting hobby but he didn't have the heart to tell them. They seemed so excited, he had to give it a go.

Having finished set up and finally deciding on a game, Zack handed him the control and turned on the console. The game started up automatically and a short introduction movie played where no less than eleven people got eviscerated in increasingly horrible ways. He considered his interest piqued.

The main menu faded in. The title, _Morenhurst_, was at the top in a large fancy typeface. He moved the cursor around the menu screen to get his hands used to the feeling of the control before selecting "Begin". Right away it entered the "Character Creation Menu" where he had the option of changing the sex, race, coloring, facial features, etcetera of his character.

When Annya finally joined them twenty minutes later, Zack was staring in morbid fascination at the television and Cloud had gotten bored and started playing the handheld system that Zack had gotten him.

"How's he doin'?" she asked.

"Just like an RPG pro. Hasn't even left character creation yet," Cloud said.

She chuckled and settled down on the couch with one of the books he had given her. He couldn't tell if they were making fun of him or not so he defiantly continued to try and get the nose shape of his half-elf mystic swordsman just right. He smirked when he spotted the book in her hands. He couldn't wait till she got to page forty-three.

When he finally had a character he thought he could live with, he selected "Done". The game deposited him in a medieval prison where he immediately had to escape by beating scores of armed guards to death with his fists. Neat.

"You know, you can loot their equipment after they die," Zack said.

"I like punching," he replied simply. He though for a moment. "If I wear their armor will I blend in and be able to sneak out without notice?"

"No," Zack said a bit sadly.

When he got out of the dungeon he was released onto a wooded path near a mountain. He noticed that sometimes when he passed a plant, its name would pop up.

"Why do some of these plants have names?"

"That means you can pick them," Cloud answered.

"Why?"

"You use them in potions and stuff."

He immediately backtracked and picked as many of the plants as he could. Just as a lightning-spewing wizard riding a bear attacked him, Annya snapped the book shut. Everyone looked at her except Cloud, who was too focused on his game.

"Seph! What the— You — Who even took this picture?" she asked, flustered and flushed.

He just smirked in reply. It had been some photographer a few years back that he didn't remember. Shinra and ordered several pinup style photos for an unreleased promotion. It had been unreleased because he had threatened to burn down the photography studio after he'd seen what the pictures looked like. He was glad he'd kept a set.

The rest of the books he'd given her were sitting on the coffee table. She eyed them warily. He smirked again. She was right to. He turned back to the screen. The lightning bear wizard had killed him and he'd gotten a game over. If he had to do all that over again he'd be severely displeased.

"What kind of pic— "

"Zack, don't we need to tell Mom and Dad we're leaving tomorrow. We're running out of time," she said quickly.

That successfully did the job of changing the subject. Zack ran his hand through his hair anxiously. "Yeah, I guess we can't just leave without saying something."

"I'll do it if you'd rather not," she said.

The First Class sighed. "No. I'll do it. This needs to go as peacefully as possible." Zack got up and left for the kitchen.

He eyed the blond who was still playing is game on one of the armchairs. He wanted to talk to Annya but would rather they were alone.

He set the controller down. "Would you like to go for a walk, Ay?"

"Sure. Fresh air sounds nice." She closed her book and turned to Cloud. "If anyone asks, can you tell them we went for a walk, Cloud?"

The blond only hummed in response.

As soon as she had grabbed her coat, they were on their way, ambling vaguely in the direction of the old bridge. He had brought her out here because he wanted to ask her something but now that he had her alone he was finding it more difficult than he had expected.

"I wonder why a white Christmas just seems so magical," she said happily, catching a few snowflakes in her hand.

She was right. It was magical, walking hand in hand through the snow. He wouldn't get a better time to ask and yet he couldn't.

Her father had given him permission to marry her. He hadn't told her that yet but she'd probably guessed and was probably expecting him to ask. Then again, when he'd first talked to her about marrying her it had only been as a way to help her get rid of her fiancé. She had expressed some reservations about marrying him; she hadn't wanted him to rush into anything just because she had to.

What he had never told her was that he had been planning on proposing right before he even found out about Lucian. But back then, neither of them had yet to say 'I love you'. He had thought they could get to that part during their engagement in a sort of backwards relationship. It would have been unconventional but then again, there wasn't much that was conventional about his life.

But now, Annya had told him that she loved him and he still couldn't tell her. She could make him laugh at things that weren't even funny and he was happy just to see her happy. He enjoyed spending time with her whether it was just walking in silence as they were doing now or just sitting and letting her talk at him. The idea of not being able to spend time with her hurt. She was prone to impatience and stubbornness but she was open to criticism. She made an effort to acknowledge her faults and tried to fix them. She accepted his faults. Then, most importantly, she didn't shun him because of what he was.

He had been so sure that he loved her but then, why did he choke anytime he tried to tell her? He had almost done it on Christmas Eve but he had just ended up kissing her. He wanted to move their relationship forward but proposing to her no longer felt like the way to do it. The fact that she could express her feelings and he could not, meant they weren't in the same place emotionally and it made him lose his nerve.

"Annya."

"Yes, Seph?"

"Would you be interested in moving in with me?"

She looked up at him and he could not read her expression. "Yes."

He didn't know if he should be happy. That was the answer he'd wanted but he had been thinking there would be more excitement. A smile at the very least. He guessed she really was expecting him to ask her to marry him. If she had been anticipating a proposal she'd probably be disappointed with just an offer to move in. Now the question was what did he say to that? He didn't want to ask her if she was disappointed but he also didn't want to pretend he didn't notice she was disappointed. Maybe he should let her know he was excited. After all, if he was happy when she was happy then it probably worked in reverse too.

He smiled. "I will be glad to have you there."

Her eyes widened very slightly before she squeezed his hand and finally smiled. "I'll be glad to be there. Really. When do you want me to move in?"

**xXxXxXx**

Sephiroth watched silently as Mrs. Fair bid Zack a long, teary farewell. She then hugged Cloud as well and thanked the blond one more time for saving Zack's life. She glanced at him before deciding to coolly ignore him and leave for the kitchen.

Mrs. Fair was upset with him to say the least. She'd been ignoring him since she found out they were leaving. From her perspective, he was an outsider that had come to their home and didn't have the decency to ask for her daughter's hand after having some part in breaking up said daughter's previous engagement.

Zack whistled. "I've never seen her blow off a guest like that before. She must really hate you, Seph."

He had no love for Mrs. Fair either but he didn't think he should tell Zack that so he just gave a noncommittal grunt and leaned against the wall to continue waiting for Annya.

According to Zack, as an unmarried young lady, she was not technically allowed to leave Gongaga without her father's permission and since he had not asked her to marry him there was no reason for her to have to go to Midgar with him. There was a good chance her father was telling her she had to stay here.

He stood there, silently planning increasingly elaborate ways to kidnap Annya, until he couldn't take the silence anymore. "If he didn't want her to go, wouldn't he have said something yesterday when you told him we were leaving, Zack?"

Zack looked up from his conversation with Cloud and he realized it hadn't been silent; he had just been too engrossed in his own thoughts.

"Mom threw a fit when she heard I was leaving early. He was too busy trying to calm her down and I guess he didn't get around to it." Zack smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. If he tells her she can't go with us, I'll just convince him otherwise."

He wasn't sure how much he believed that since Zack had been unable to convince Mr. Fair to break off the engagement with Lucian. He didn't have to return to his grand kidnapping plans because he heard the study door open. He looked expectantly at the doorway she'd be coming through but she didn't appear for another few minutes.

"You guys ready to go?" she asked.

He didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed his and Zack's bags.

"I can take my own bags, Seph," Zack said indignantly.

He scoffed. He wasn't going to let his friend carry anything heavy after having recently been shot, no matter how well he was recovering.

"No," he said simply.

He ignored Zack's glare and eyed Annya's suitcase. He should take hers too, right? She grabbed it just as his muscles tensed to raise his arm. He let his arm relax. He supposed it wasn't a problem. She hadn't been shot after all.

He followed Zack and Cloud out of the house with Annya a little ways behind him. Zack eventually fell back to walk next to his sister.

"You don't want to say goodbye to Mom?" Zack asked.

"I tried," she said with finality.

"Oh. What did Dad say?" Zack asked quietly.

"Oh, just that we should go back to Midgar and that we shouldn't bother coming home next Christmas. Or really any Christmas after that," she tried to say nonchalantly though just as quietly.

His ears perked up at this. He didn't think they were trying to keep it too private. Zack at least had to know his hearing was good enough to pick up their conversation at this distance.

"We?" Zack asked.

"Yeah. Said we'd both be happier in Midgar. That Gongaga isn't the place for what either of us is looking for."

Zack fell silent. Apparently, Mr. Fair wasn't as obtuse as they'd thought.

"I'm sorry, Zack," she said sadly. "I know you actually liked coming home."

"Was he angry or disappointed?" Zack asked.

"Neither. He said he's suspected for years. He told me to make sure I tell you that he's sorry he didn't tell you this himself and that he still loves you and that he won't tell Mum," she sounded happier.

Zack gave a shaky laugh at this and the next thing he knew the First Class was walking quickly past him to catch back up with Cloud. Annya was walking next to him a moment later.

"Is he going to be all right?" he asked her, as he watched Zack. He knew Zack loved his entire family and not being able to see his parents again was going to eat away at him.

She sighed. "I think so. That went much better than he was expecting."

"Are you going to be all right?"

Not being allowed to see them again would probably be upsetting for her as well. She could have always kept hiding out in Midgar and refused to return but she hadn't. She had still cared about her parents or at least felt obligated enough to come back for this Christmas.

She looked up at him, confused. "Me?" Realization hit her. "Oh, yeah. I've been expecting to get kicked out for years. And it was even for my own sake. Not because I'm a terrible daughter."

She sounded quite content and he was glad for it. He had no idea what he'd do with them both being depressed at the same time.

**xXxXxXx**

The airship would arrive to pick them up in an hour. They had left so early because Cloud had needed to stop at Leeman's, the general store, to pick up a tranquilizer for the flight.

The tranquilizer was already bought and now Cloud and Zack were filling a basket with snacks, with Sephiroth standing nearby giving a running critique on their choices. Annya stood back a little, eyes locked on Sephiroth. Two days after the fact and she wasn't scared of him at all. She had had some reservations about agreeing to move in with him but ultimately it had been an easy choice. Not disappointing him was the most important thing. Of course, she wondered if that was something she'd believe only until he tried to touch her again.

She turned away from them to see who else was in the store. Aside from Mr. Leeman at the register, there were three boys her age that she vaguely recognized, standing by the comic rack and gawking at Sephiroth. As she predicted they walked over. Sephiroth put down the chips he was holding and straightened as they approached, face falling into its business mask.

"Hey, Zack. Eric told us you showed up with the General. We pushed him in the lake for being a liar but I guess he was telling the truth," their leader, a dirty-blond boy with freckles, said, looking excitedly at Sephiroth.

She glared at them. She only knew of one Eric in the town. "You pushed a twelve year old in the lake in the middle of winter?"

At her words, Sephiroth turned back to shelf he was perusing, obviously having decided these weren't the type of fans he'd like to deal with, but she was ignored completely by the teens.

"How are you feeling, Zack? You look pretty okay considering your injury. SOLDIER really is something," Freckles said cheerfully and seemingly unperturbed by Sephiroth's brush off.

"Fine," Zack said shortly.

"That's good," Freckles said. "Anyway, heard about the engagement. Terrible luck, Zack. No one else is going to take that worthless sister of yours."

"Hey, she's standing right there so why not try to not be such a jackass," Cloud spat, before anyone else could say anything.

Her own words caught in her throat as she stared at the blond. She would not have expected Cloud of all people would be the first one to her defense.

"Whoa, Blondie. We're not trying to start any trouble," Freckles said, though the way his friends were looking at Cloud said otherwise.

"I think we all just need to calm down," Zack said warningly.

The sound of Zack's voice seemed to remind them that they were in the presence of two SOLDIERs. Freckles glanced fearfully from Zack to Sephiroth before signaling his friends to stand down.

"Zack's right boys. A fight would ruin poor Mr. Leeman's shop. Besides there's a lady present. We wouldn't want to accidentally hit her." Freckles said smoothly before turning to follow his friends out. As he passed her, he looked her right in the eyes and whispered. "Though, from what I hear, we wouldn't be the first would we?"

So even that part of her life had just been another part of the rumor mill. Well, she hoped she had kept them well entertained at their dinner tables. Her fists clenched and she bit her cheek till it bled to stop herself from punching his smug face. None of the others had taken a swing and she wouldn't let herself be the first. She rushed out of the store and ran for the pickup spot. The sooner she could get out of this place the better.

"Ay, wait!" Zack called after her.

She didn't want to wait. She wanted to get to the airship. She didn't stop but soon heard footsteps in the snow right behind her.

"Not now, Zack. I just want to be alone for awhile."

"I will not leave you."

She finally stopped and turned to find Zack was several meters behind with Cloud and all the bags.

"You do not have to look so surprised," Sephiroth said as he pulled her into his arms. "Zack is not the only one who cares about you."

She left her arms hanging loosely at her sides but buried her face in his chest. Her throat tightened like she would cry but the tears didn't come.

"They knew," she croaked pitifully. "And no one did anything."

"They probably didn't find out till after the fact. Lucian's feeble attempt at revenge."

Her throat loosened slightly. That was much more preferable over thinking people had been faking concern, asking her what had happened anytime she failed to hide a bruise properly while laughing about it behind her back. More preferable over thinking that her mother, who religiously followed the rumor mill, had known the whole time and still chosen to play ignorant.

"Should I pay Lucian a visit?" he asked.

Sephiroth was doing his best to protect her, as always. She smiled and finally wrapped her arms around him. What did it matter how long other people had known? The people that mattered had helped as soon as they found out. It was over now and in less than an hour she'd be going back to Midgar.

"That won't be necessary. I feel better. Thank you," she said, muffled in his sweater.

He kissed her. "Then let's get to the airship."

"Right. I wouldn't want to be stuck here longer than I had to."

They walked back to pick up their luggage. As they approached, Zack stopped laughing at something Cloud had said and gave her a reassuring smile. This morning Zack had been told he might never see his parents again yet Cloud had been able to make him truly laugh again within the hour. She couldn't for the life of her think of why she'd ever wanted to get in the way of that.

Sephiroth started grabbing bags. She was a bit disappointed when hers was first. She had kind of liked that he hadn't taken it the first time. Zack stopped smiling and grabbed his bag possessively and refused to give it up.

"It was one bullet, Seph. It didn't even hit anything important. There's barely even a scar left," Zack said.

Sephiroth just lightly tapped him near the wound site and the First Class winced and dropped the bag. Sephiroth picked it up without a word and started walking.

"Hey, don't just punch someone in the bullet wound and walk away," Zack groaned, walking after Sephiroth and complaining all the way.

She fell into stride next to the blond as they followed.

"Thanks for sticking up for me," she said.

Cloud just stared off ahead. "I don't like bullies."

Something clicked in her head at his tone. He had said that he wanted to join SOLDIER to prove himself and he hadn't been planning on going back to Nibelheim for Christmas even if he hadn't come to Gongaga. Cloud was bullied at home. She felt a surge of affection for the blond and went to ruffle his hair but thought better of it.

Cloud had seen it coming and his face was already contorted in anger, ready to yell at her. He looked very confused when she pulled her hand away.

"What?" he asked.

She smiled. "Cloud."

"Yeah?" he asked suspiciously.

"Take care of Zack, okay?"

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Have a Merry Christmas everyone!


End file.
